Notre Dame marks arrival of Paris Olympics’ iconic trackside bell as cathedral reopening nears

PARIS (AP) — Paris’s Notre Dame cathedral, whose historic bells were silenced following 2019’s devastating fire, will soon echo again with fresh chimes.

On Thursday, the Gothic landmark took delivery of three new bells, including one that was used in the city’s Stade de France stadium during this year’s Paris Olympic Games.

The Olympic bell, a gift from the Paris 2024 organizing committee, will be installed alongside two smaller bells, named Chiara and Carlos, above the altar where they will be rung during Mass, officials said.

Their arrival ahead of Notre Dame’s reopening on Dec. 8 marks a milestone in the painstaking restoration and modernization of the 861-year-old cathedral, made famous around the world by Victor Hugo’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”

Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, rector of Notre Dame, expressed gratitude for the bells’ arrival during a ceremony.

“What a joy it is,” he said. “At the most important moment of the Mass these bells will ring, just as they did when the victor of a competition could celebrate their victory.”

During the Paris 2024 Games, the iconic Olympic bell was rung by each track and field winner.

It bears the mark “Paris 2024,” while the two others are adorned with a round symbol combining the image of Notre Dame’s iconic rosary window with a monstrance, a religious vessel central to the cathedral’s altar.

Crafted by the renowned Cornille Havard foundry, in Villedieu-les-Poêles, Normandy, the bells embody France’s distinguished bell-making tradition.

In a solemn moment, Dumas consecrated the bells with holy water and a tree branch.

Standing on the square outside the cathedral, he and Tony Estanguet, head of the Paris 2024 organizing committee, struck the bells with a wooden mallet to mark the occasion.

“What a powerful symbol it is to see this second life given to the Paris 2024 bell, which brought us so many emotions during these Games,” Estanguet said.

The bells replace three that were previously positioned near Notre Dame’s 19th-century spire, which dramatically collapsed during the fire which ripped through the cathedral’s rafters and roof.

The new bells will be placed in a different location within the cathedral, officials said, where their return will add to the soundscape of Notre Dame’s daily life.

They join the eight historic bells from the cathedral’s north tower that were reinstalled in September after being cleaned and renovated.

Those bells—Gabriel, Anne-Geneviève, Denis, Marcel, Étienne, Benoît-Joseph, Maurice, and Jean-Marie—were originally cast in 2013 for Notre Dame’s 850th anniversary.

The cathedral’s two larger bells remain intact on the south tower and were unaffected by the blaze, officials added.

The reconstruction of Notre Dame has involved more than 250 companies and hundreds of skilled craftsmen.

The Olympic bell isn’t the only symbol of old meeting new in Notre-Dame’s evolving restoration.

Perched atop the newly designed spire, a golden rooster, reimagined by chief architect Philippe Villeneuve, marks a blend of the cathedral’s ancient spirit with a modern touch.

The weathervane, which resembles a phoenix with flames licking its wings, is described as a testament to hope and revival.