France: Fundraising to Restore the Interior of Notre-Dame de Paris

Estimated at six million euros, the interior fittings of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral will not financed by the national subscription for the restoration of the building.

In fact, this subscription, which saw donations pouring in following the fire in April 2019, is intended for the conservation and restoration of the building, which belongs to the State. Responsibility for the interior design program remains entirely that of the diocese.

The collection of the “Paris Cathedral Fund” created under the aegis of the Notre-Dame Foundation will therefore be devoted to interior fittings. It will finance “the creation of a visitors walk around the chapels of Notre-Dame, the restoration of the reliquary box of the Crown of Thorns damaged in the fire, and the extension of the choir organ.

“The liturgical axis from the baptistery to the new tabernacle will also be redesigned, and the furniture, sound and lighting will be brought up to 21st century standards,” explains Christophe Rousselot, general delegate of the Notre-Dame Foundation, in charge of collection.

The American Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris foundation will support this campaign, and donations can be made on the English-language site, by assigning your donation to the work you want to restore.

Along with this call for donations and patronage, Notre-Dame is seeking skilled craftsmen and artists likely bid on projects. Some projects, such as the Crown of Thorns Reliquary Box, will be featured shortly. The altar project will be unveiled in 2024.

The diocese of Paris intends to offer a new visitors walk to the faithful, pilgrims, and tourists who, before the fire, numbered six million visits to Notre-Dame each year. After several months devoted to consolidating the building, restoration work should begin this summer.