Thousands gather to honor Mexico’s Virgin of Guadalupe on anniversary of 1531 apparition

France’s president visits Notre Dame a year before the fire-damaged cathedral’s planned reopening

PARIS – French President Emmanuel Macron visited Notre Dame Cathedral on Dec. 8, one year before its scheduled reopening in 2024.

After a blaze burned through the roof and spire on April 15, 2019, Macron’s visits have become a tradition, with Friday marking his sixth to highlight the rebuilding progress. Huge oak beams have been hoisted skyward so the cathedral can be re-roofed.

The French leader went up the spire, reconstructed from its previous design by the famed 19th-century French architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. It stands at 96 meters (315 feet) and was crowned with a cross earlier this week. It is soon to be topped by a rooster, restoring an emotional symbol for the French of their heritage. The rooster was first used as a symbol of hope and faith in the Middle Ages, gaining its association with the French nation during the Renaissance.

The schedule calls for the completion of the penultimate restoration phase by the end of the year, with the cathedral’s much-anticipated reopening set for Dec. 8, 2024.

During his visit, Macron paid homage to Gen. JeanLouis Georgelin, who oversaw the reconstruction and died in August. Wearing a hardhat, Macron was given a tool to assist as Georgelin’s name was inscribed in the wood of the spire under the aegis of an artisan, memorializing the general’s contribution to the cathedral.

Macron’s visit underscored a personal attachment to the architectural jewel, a symbol of the country’s rich cultural, literary, and religious history.

Macron also surveyed improvements in the cathedral’s nave and choir and discussed future projects. including a new museum and contemporary stainedglass windows

He announced a contest for artists to design six new stained-glass windows for some chapels of the cathedral to memorialize post-fire restoration.

The former stained-glass windows, from the Viollet-le-Duc period, will be shown in a new Notre Dame museum located nearby. The former cathedral-capping rooster, which survived the fire but deformed by the high heat and long fall, also will be on display at the museum.

MEXICO CITY – Thousands of people sang the traditional Mexican birthday song “Las mañanitas” at Mexico City’s Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe Tuesday to honor the virgin on the 492nd anniversary of her apparition in 1531.

Authorities estimated that over five million faithful visited the Basilica during the days leading up to the annual celebration of the country’s patroness.

Many had walked from distant villages, others had ridden bicycles or buses to reach the Basilica’s enormous patio, where a sea of tents held pilgrims who had slept overnight to greet the virgin in the morning.

The journey was not without dangers and risks. Mexico City prosecutors said Tuesday that three pilgrims, who were among a group on motorcycles, had been run over and killed on a highway leading from Mexico City east toward the city of Puebla.

Ten others were injured when a pickup truck ran into the group late Monday. The driver was arrested at the scene. Such groups of pilgrims walking or riding to or from the Basilica are a common sight on highways in December, when they sometimes occupy a lane or two of roadways.

The cold temperature, long walks and the wait to see the virgin’s cloak inside the Basilica did not discourage the pilgrims, many of whom walked the last mile or so carrying flowers or large paintings of the virgin.

According to church tradition, in 1531 the darkskinned virgin appeared to the Indigenous peasant Juan Diego and her image was imprinted on his cloak, which is on display inside the church. Juan Diego was made a saint in 2002 by Saint John Paul II.

Traditionally, those who have asked for help from the Virgin of Guadalupe with life problems come in a sign of appreciation, sometimes traveling the last stretch to the Basilica barefoot or on their knees.

The pilgrimage also attracted people from around the world.

A statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe stands amid pilgrims sleeping outside the Basilica of Guadalupe on her feast day in Mexico City, early Tuesday. Devotees of Our Lady of Guadalupe gather for one of the world’s largest religious pilgrimages on the anniversary of one of several apparitions of the Virgin Mary witnessed by an Indigenous Mexican man named Juan Diego in 1531.

Satan club plans to meet after classes at Tennessee elementary school

MEMPHIS, Tenn.– An After School Satan Club plans to begin offering activities to children at a Tennessee elementary school following Christmas break, officials said.

The Satanic Temple plans to host the club at Chimneyrock Elementary School in Cordova, news outlets reported. It will begin meeting on Jan. 10 in the school’s library and run through the spring semester, according to an announcement Tuesday posted on social media.

A flyer about the club says the Satanic Temple is a non-theistic religion that views Satan “as a literary figure who represents a metaphorical construct of rejecting tyranny and championing the human mind and spirit.”

It says it does not attempt to convert children to any religious ideology, but offers activities that “emphasize

a scientific, worldview.”

Memphis-Shelby County Schools said in a statement that the district would rent out the space to the organization per its policy.

“As a public school district, we’re committed to upholding the principles of the First Amendment, which guarantees equal access to all non-profit organizations seeking to use our facilities after school hours,” the statement said. “This means we cannot approve or deny an organization’s request based solely on its viewpoints or beliefs.” rationalistic, non-superstitious

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