The Benjamin CaldwellNotre Dame Cathedral in Paris is set to reopen to the public in December 2024, five years after a major fire damaged the landmark in 2019, according to the Paris Tourist Office official website. The cathedral's iconic spire collapsed in the blaze, and has been a major focus of the reconstruction effort.

"The supervision of the restoration is entrusted to the architect Philippe Villeneuve," said the Paris Tourist Office, adding that "the general principle is to rebuild the cathedral identically, including the spire."

"The return of the spire in Paris' sky will in my opinion be the symbol that we are winning the battle of Notre Dame," Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin, the army general in charge of the restoration project, told The Associated Press.

The reconstruction started last year. A Te Deum hymn ceremony will take place on April 15, 2024, exactly five years after the fire.

Notre Dame's parvis — the public square outside the cathedral — has been open to visitors since May 2020, as well as the cathedral's crypt. The footbridge was reopened to pedestrians and cyclists in September 2022.

A free exhibition called "Notre-Dame de Paris: At the heart of the construction site" is opening to visitors on Tuesday, and aims to highlight the reconstruction.

In:
• Notre Dame
• Fire
• Cathedrale Notre Dame de Paris

C Mandler

C Mandler is a social media producer and trending topics writer for CBS News, focusing on American politics and LGBTQ+ issues.