The renovated Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral reopened its doors on Saturday, December 7, 2024, and celebrated its rebirth on Sunday, December 8, 2024, with the consecration of the new high altar.

Politicians from all over the world, figures from the worlds of entertainment and culture, and various ecclesiastical representatives were be present, and the event was broadcast worldwide.

At the request of Monsignor Ulrich, Archbishop of Paris, the relics of five Parisian saints, including those of Madeleine-Sophie Barat, were placed in the main altar.

A little of Saint Madeleine-Sophie will now be present in this landmark of the Church in Paris, a monument that is symbolic of French history and culture.

It is an honor for the Congregation to see Saint Madeleine-Sophie associated with the Cathedral and this event.

On the eve of the opening of the centenary year of her canonization, at a time when Pope Francis put the Sacred Heart front and center with the encyclical ‘Dilexit Nos’ (“He loved us”), this presence is a discreet yet powerful symbol, a sign of the importance of the saintly figures who strove to love according to the Heart of Christ and to translate this into the service of educating young people and welcoming the marginalized and the most vulnerable (think of Madeleine-Sophie, Eugénie Milleret, Catherine Labouré, Charles de Foucauld, Blessed Vladimir Ghika). It is an invitation to follow in their footsteps.

As a result of the gift of this relic to the Cathedral, the provincial of BFN, Noëlle Favet, was invited on behalf of the Province to take part in this inaugural mass.

Magda Khalifa, rscj, was also in attendance, representing the Notre Dame of Egypt church, along with other parishioners.

Watch as the relics are placed in the altar
The relic of MSB is the small one in the middle on the left. Video from Marisol Soler rscj (ESP).