PARIS, Apr 7 (Reuters) – A small congregation of worshipers will celebrate Mass on Good Friday at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, a year after it was devastated by a fire, but attendance will be limited due to the quarantine ordered by the coronavirus epidemic.
Seven people will attend the televised mass on Friday when Christians commemorate the death of Jesus Christ.
“Only a few priests will attend the Masses that we will celebrate during Easter and people will be able to follow the services on the radio or on television,” Archbishop of Paris Michel Aupetit said in a video conference.
The service will include a crown rescued after the fire in Notre-Dame.
This year there will be no Easter Saturday processions due to isolation, which limits the size of public gatherings.
On Easter Sunday, when Christians celebrate the resurrection of Christ, Aupetit will give mass at the Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois church, near the Louvre museum, in the heart of Paris, with the attendance of about 20 people.
Last year hundreds of Parisians gathered for Easter Sunday mass at the Saint-Eustache church in central Paris and prayed for the prompt restoration of Notre-Dame after the fire that had swept through it days earlier, the April 15.
The fire destroyed the roof of the medieval cathedral, knocked down the spire, and nearly knocked down the main bell towers and main walls, but firefighters managed to control the fire before that happened.
President Emmanuel Macron set a five-year goal to restore Notre-Dame, one of the most prominent sites in Europe.
(Report by Elizabeth Pineau. Written by Dominique Vidalon. Edited in Spanish by Lucila Sigal)
Corresponsal de Argentina, Encargado de seleccionar las noticias más relevantes de su interés a nuestro sitio web NewsPer.com
