Pope Leo prays at Notre-Dame Cathedral: ‘where heaven and earth meet’

PARIS — Pope Leo XIV prayed Evening Prayer at Notre-Dame Cathedral on Friday, becoming the first pope to set foot in the monumental church since it was rebuilt after the 2019 fire that ravaged its roof, nave, and spire.

Less than two years after its reopening, Leo reflected on the iconic cathedral, which, “more than any other [place], has invited the people of Paris for centuries to lift their eyes towards heaven.”

“Seven years have passed since the whole world, holding its breath, watched as the cathedral was engulfed in a terrible fire,” he said in his homily. “That pain was felt not only by Catholics, nor only by believers.”

“In that tragic moment we came to realize that Notre-Dame is more than a monument,” the pope said. “The collective effort to rebuild it, and the splendor of the result reveal that the heart of a people beats here, and that here we stand at the living center of a civilization, where past and future embrace, where heaven and earth meet.”

Seven years after a devastating fire nearly destroyed Notre-Dame Cathedral, Pope Leo XIV enters the restored cathedral Sept. 25, 2026 and celebrates Vespers in the first papal visit since the 2019 blaze.| Credit:…