No Christmas Mass at Notre Dame after fire

First time it’s happened in more than 200 years

France’s historic Notre Dame Cathedral will be dark and empty on Christmas for the first time in more than 200 years. The iconic Gothic structure has been relegated to a massive construction site since the devastating blaze that collapsed its roof and spire in April.

Christmas services have been moved a mile away to Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois, a church dating back to the 7th century.

“This is the first time since the French Revolution that there will be no midnight Mass” at Notre Dame, said cathedral rector Patrick Chauvet. “We have the opportunity to celebrate the Mass outside the walls ... with some indicators that Notre Dame is connected to us.”

Chauvet said a wooden liturgical platform was constructed in the SaintGermain church to resemble Notre Dame’s. Notre Dame’s choir will sing at midnight Mass.

The cathedral held a modest service in June in its Chapel of the Virgin, marking 850 years since the consecration of the cathedral’s altar. The 30 gathered congregants wore hard hats under a ceiling with gaping holes.

More than $1 billion was pledged by thousands of donors to finance the reconstruction. French President Emmanuel Macron set a five-year goal to complete the work.

“It is up to us to convert this disaster into an opportunity to come together,” Macron said after the fire. “This is not a time for politics.”

Progress has been slow. In August, Paris authorities shut down streets around the cathedral to decontaminate them after high levels of lead were discovered in the area. Culture Minister Franck Riester said a few more months of conservation work is needed before reconstruction is fully underway.

The cathedral was undergoing renovations when the fire broke out April 15. The fire burned for hours, virtually unabated despite the efforts of hundreds of firefighters.