Trump says he’ll attend Notre Dame reopening in Paris, his first abroad journey since election

President-elect Donald Trump stated late Monday that he’ll journey to Paris for the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral, a grand celebration set to happen this weekend. 

“It’s an honor to announce that I will probably be touring to Paris, France, on Saturday to attend the re-opening of the Magnificent and Historic Notre Dame Cathedral, which has been absolutely restored after a devastating fireplace 5 years in the past,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Reality Social. “President Emmanuel Macron has finished an exquisite job making certain that Notre Dame has been restored to its full degree of glory, and much more so. It will likely be a really special occasion for all!”

Notre Dame was broken in a hearth that raged for 12 hours on April 15, 2019, almost destroying the enduring 1,200-year-old church. Though consultants stated on the time that the restoration may take as much as 40 years, Macron vowed to rebuild in 5 years.

“The choice to rebuild Notre Dame was about our capability to avoid wasting, restore, generally reinvent what we’re by preserving the place we come from,” Macron advised 60 Minutes. “It is a message of feat.”

Paris has been making ready for the reopening of the cathedral, which will probably be marked by days of celebration beginning on Saturday. Laurent Ulrich, the Archbishop of Paris, together with Macron, will preside over Saturday’s service, which will probably be broadcast on French tv. Almost 170 bishops from France and around the globe are anticipated to take part within the celebration, together with one priest from every of the 106 parishes within the Diocese of Paris, and one priest from every of the seven Jap Catholic Church buildings, accompanied by Catholics from these communities, based on Notre Dame’s web site. 

The inaugural mass, with the consecration of the excessive altar, will probably be on Sunday.

Trump was within the White Home for his first time period when the fireplace occurred, and tweeted on the time that it was “So horrible to look at the large fireplace at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.”

Macron, who has led France since 2017, was one of many first world leaders to congratulate Trump for successful the 2024 presidential election — posting on social media earlier than Trump was projected the winner. Throughout Trump’s first time period, the media had labeled their relationship a “bromance,” though there are more likely to be fractures within the second Trump administration amid variations of opinion on NATO and Ukraine.

That is the primary worldwide journey for Trump since he gained the election final month. He visited France 4 occasions throughout his first time period, and Melania Trump, who’s Catholic, prayed at Notre Dame in 2017, earlier than the fireplace.