Millions watched on television in horror on April 15, 2019, as plumes of fire shot up from the Notre-Dame de Paris, one of the world’s oldest and most celebrated cathedrals. At first, the devastation seemed nearly total, with much of the roof and the iconic spire lost to flames. But, today, more than five years later, visitors once more pour into its sanctuary, eager to see how the $1 billion restoration work has progressed.

I was lucky enough to visit on Easter Sunday 2025, a day filled with masses and special events. Thousands of families — tourists and locals alike — stood patiently in hours-long lines to get inside, to attend a mass or just have a chance to see the remarkable restoration.

The interior of the cathedral reopened to the public on Dec.8, although much restoration work still remains to be done. Giant cranes still hang over the building, but thousands of people a day line up to see the rebuilt interior.

The altar and the heart, designed by French artist and designer Guillaume Bardet as French President Emmanuel Macron visits the restored interiors of the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024 in Paris. (Christophe Petit Tesson/Pool via AP)

Larger than a football field, the inside of the cathedral now glows with oatmeal-colored walls and cavernous vaulted ceilings, after the controversial decision to wash them with a latex solution, obscuring the old soot and candle smoke of the centuries. If you’re used to seeing gray, grimey walls in ancient buildings, you may be startled to walk in and see the light-filled interior.

The French government, which owns Notre-Dame, made the decision in 2019 to rebuild the cathedral as it was before the fire, and vowed to do it within five years — a deadline that was only exceeded by a few months. There have been some changes, including a modern bronze main altar, baptismal font and lectern. Some people would have preferred a more traditional style, but the new style is not jarring.

Fortunately for posterity, the cathedral’s three magnificent medieval rose windows, created in the 13th century, were saved from the inferno. The sanctuary is covered with stained glass, thanks to an architectural innovation of the time. The so-called flying buttresses pulled the weight of the roof outside the structure, meaning that the interior walls could be opened up for spectacular displays of leaded and stained glass. The ancient 8,000-pipe organ was also saved and restored, removing toxic dust that had settled there from the collapsed lead roof.

You could spend hours looking around at all the details, but I like to attend a service when I visit remarkable churches. That’s when they show their true selves, including the faith of the worshippers. If you can go to a high mass, also known as a Gregorian mass, you’ll see the worship at its finest.

Worshippers attend a mass inside Notre Dame cathedral on April 21, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Nicolas Garriga)

No ancient European cathedral is complete without its holy relics, which are venerated by the faithful as sacred artifacts from various saints and the life of Jesus.

Notre-Dame offers its believers the following: The remnants of the “holy crown of thorns,” which Biblical accounts say was placed mockingly on Jesus’ head by Roman soldiers while he was being crucified.  Also, a piece of the cross used for the crucifixion, and a nail from the cross.

Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich holds the ancient relic that many Christians revere as Jesus Christ’s “Crown of Thorns” during a ceremony to mark Good Friday at Notre Dame cathedral, Friday, April 18, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

The relics were rescued from the 2019 fire in dramatic fashion, involving a chain of police and firefighters, and moved temporarily to the Louvre. They were recently returned to Notre- Dame with pomp and ceremony, to be displayed in a newly built reliquary. At this writing, the public can see them on the first Friday of every month.

One thing that surprised me on my visit: Even though the cathedral was absolutely jammed with people, it was relatively quiet.

The removation of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris is shown on Oct. 28, 2024. (Photo by Getty Images)

Visitors couldn’t help gasping when they entered and got their first looks, but otherwise seemed more solemn and respectful than is often the case.

Hopefully, they appreciated the five years of slavishly devoted work by some 2,000 sculptors, engineers, art restorers, stonemasons, carpenters, roofers, iron workers to bring this church back to life. And it still continues today.

The south side and new spire of Notre-Dame cathedral under construction are shown on May 26, 2024. (Photo by Getty Images)

Timeline of Notre-Dame de Paris:

1163: The cathedral was built between 1163 and 1260, in French Gothic style.
1789: During the French Revolution, many statues and decorative elements of the cathedral were destroyed and it was at one time used as a warehouse. The 28 statues of saints were beheaded, mistaken for French kings, and some of the bells were removed and melted down.
1804: Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself emperor of France with the pope in attendance in Notre-Dame, and portions of the cathedral were restored. But the property continued to decay, and there was talk of demolishing it.
1831: “ The Hunchback of Notre Dame” by Victor Hugo is published and becomes a massive best-seller, sparking a campaign to restore the cathedral.
1844: King Luis Phillippe orders that the cathedral be restored. A grander spire than the one destroyed during the French Revolution is constructed.
1991: For the 800th anniversary of the cathedral, a 10-year-long restoration project repaired decorative elements that had fallen off, gargoyles, turrets, and sculptures. The stone exterior was also cleaned of centuries of pollution.
2019: On April 15, a fire broke out in the attic and spread across the roof and spire before firefighters were alerted. They prioritized saving the two towers, because their heavy bells could have destroyed the interior if they fell. But 750 tons of debris. including toxic lead dust, fell into the sanctuary from the roof and spire.
2021: Two years of cleaning up from the fire and shoring up the structure meant that reconstruction could finally begin. Because the church is owned by the French government, the decision was to rebuild it as it was before.
2024: The new roof is completed in March. In September, eight massive tower bells returned after cleaning, with three new bells added later. In December the church’s doors were symbolically reopened and the pipe organ’s 8,000 pipes could be heard for the first time since being covered with toxic dust, as the public ws allowed inside for the first ceremonies and masses.
2025: Construction continues on the massive project, hoped to be completed by 2027.

Construction workers dismantle scaffoldings as they operate to complete renovation of various parts of the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral in Paris, on October 21, 2024. The cathedral was partially destroyed when a fire broke out beneath its roof on April 15, 2019. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP) (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images)

Things to know:

English language website: notredamedeparis.fr/en/
Address: Notre-Dame Cathedral of Paris, 6 Parvis Notre-Dame, Place Jean-Paul II, 75004 Paris
The cathedral is open and free to visit, 7:50 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays-Fridays (until 10 p.m. on Thursdays); 8:15 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays.
The famous “crown of thorns” is only on display intermittently, check the website.
Due to gruelingly long lines, it’s highly advisable to make an advance timed reservation at the above website. They can be made two days to several hours in advance. You don’t need to reserve to attend a mass; arrive 20 minutes early and find the special line. Here’s the mass schedule: notredamedeparis.fr/en/pray/services-masses/
If you’re disabled, talk directly to the staff at the far left of the cathedral for special entry.
Here’s the schedule of sacred music concerts (must buy tickets) billetterie-musiquesacree.mapado.com/en

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NBA Finals

Indiana Pacers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

Records: Pacers (50-32, 12-4), Thunder (68-14, 12-4)
Season series: Thunder, 2-0
Next: Game 1 at Oklahoma City, Thursday, 7:30 p.m., KSTP-Channel 5

How they got here: Oklahoma City overwhelmed Memphis in a first-round sweep, survived seven games against 2023 NBA champion Denver, then eliminated Minnesota in five games in the Western Conference finals. The Thunder finished off the series in a romp, leading by 39 points in a 124-94 victory, and are winning by about 11 points per game in the postseason. The Pacers aren’t as dominant but find a way at the finish, taking out Milwaukee and top-seeded Cleveland in five games before knocking off New York in six in the finals. Their four victories after trailing by 17 or more points are the most by a team in a single postseason.

Storyline: The small markets get the big stage. For Oklahoma City, it’s a second trip to the NBA Finals since moving from Seattle in 2008. The Thunder lost in their first try against Miami in 2012 but are heavy favorites in this one after compiling the NBA’s best record behind MVP and scoring champion Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Pacers are making just their second NBA Finals appearance, having lost to the Lakers in 2000.

Key matchup: Tyrese Haliburton vs. Lu Dort, Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace and Gilgeous-Alexander. Nobody can throw as many good defensive guards at a team as the Thunder, as Anthony Edwards found out when Oklahoma City limited him to 12-for-31 shooting in the final two games of the West finals. Haliburton is having a memorable postseason, hitting three game-winning or game-tying shots and topping all players with 9.8 assists a game. But the Thunder held the All-NBA point guard to 11 points and 5.5 assists per game.

X-factor: Indiana’s defense. The Pacers are potent, with their 117.4 points per game in the postseason the second-highest ever by a team entering the NBA Finals. But even they can’t count on offense alone against a top defensive squad like Oklahoma City. The Pacers are going to have to slow down the Thunder and showed no signs of being able to in the regular season, as Oklahoma City reached 30 points in six of the eight quarters and averaged 126 per game.

Prediction: The Thunder are top-to-bottom the best team in the NBA. The Pacers’ road success and high-scoring offense allow them to compete in this series but not win it. Oklahoma City in 6.

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By EDITH M. LEDERER

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution Wednesday demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza because it’s not linked to the release of hostages.

The resolution also does not condemn Hamas’ deadly attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, or say the group must disarm and withdraw from Gaza — two other U.S. demands.

The 14 other members of the 15-nation council voted in favor of the resolution, which also describes the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “catastrophic” and calls on Israel to lift all restrictions on the delivery of aid to the 2.1 million Palestinians in the territory.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council will vote Wednesday on a resolution demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and the Trump administration is expected to veto it because it does not link the ceasefire to the release of all the hostages held by Hamas, which has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.

The resolution before the U.N.’s most powerful body also does not condemn Hamas’ deadly attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which ignited the war, or say the group must disarm and withdraw from Gaza — two other U.S. demands.

The U.S. vetoed the last resolution on Gaza in November, under the Biden administration, because the ceasefire demand was not directly linked to the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. Similarly, the current resolution demands those taken by Hamas and other groups be released, but it does not make it a condition for a truce.

Calling the humanitarian situation in Gaza “catastrophic,” the resolution, put forth by the 15-member council’s 10 elected members, also calls for “the immediate and unconditional lifting of all restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and its safe and unhindered distribution at scale, including by the U.N. and humanitarian partners.”

President Donald Trump’s administration has tried to ramp up its efforts to broker peace in Gaza after 20 months of war. However, Hamas has sought amendments to a U.S. proposal that special envoy Steve Witkoff has called “totally unacceptable.”

The vote follows a decision by an Israeli and U.S.-backed foundation to pause food delivery at its three distribution sites in the Gaza Strip after health officials said dozens of Palestinians were killed in a series of shootings near the sites this week. Israel and the United States say they supported the establishment of the new aid system to prevent Hamas from stealing aid previously distributed by the U.N.

The United Nations has rejected the new system, saying it doesn’t address Gaza’s mounting hunger crisis, allows Israel to use aid as a weapon and doesn’t comply with the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence. The U.N. says its distribution system throughout Gaza worked very well during the March ceasefire and is carefully monitored.

The resolution demands the restoration of all essential humanitarian services in line with humanitarian principles, international humanitarian law and U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Several U.N. diplomats from different countries, speaking on condition of anonymity because discussions have been private, said they expect the United States to veto the resolution. They also said they expect a similar vote to the one in November, when the 14 other council members supported the resolution.

Israel’s U.N. Mission said Ambassador Danny Danon, who will speak after the vote, will say the resolution undermines humanitarian relief efforts and ignores Hamas, which is still endangering civilians in Gaza. He also will say the resolution disregards the ceasefire negotiations that are already underway, the mission said.

Gaza’s roughly 2 million people are almost completely reliant on international aid because Israel’s offensive has destroyed nearly all food production capabilities. Israel imposed a blockade on supplies into Gaza on March 2, and limited aid began to enter again late last month after pressure from allies and warnings of famine.

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“The world is watching, day after day, horrifying scenes of Palestinians being shot, wounded or killed in Gaza while simply trying to eat,” U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said in a statement Wednesday. He called for a flood of aid to be let in and for the world body to be the one delivering it.

The Security Council has voted on 14 Gaza-related resolutions and approved four since the war began. That is when Hamas-led terrorists stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251.

They are still holding 58 hostages, a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants.

The ministry is led by medical professionals but reports to the Hamas-run government. Its toll is seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts, though Israel has challenged its numbers.

AP writer Farnoush Amiri at the United Nations contributed to this report.

The state proposes giving the Harlem River a new classification that would exempt the city from meeting bacterial water quality standards when it rains—and environmental groups are not happy about it.

The Harlem River, which runs between Manhattan and the Bronx, sees more overflow from the sewer system than any river in the state, according to the non-profit Swim Coalition. (Photo by Adi Talwar)

The Bronx’s environmental community is standing strong against a state proposal to assign the Harlem River a new water quality classification that would exempt the city from meeting clean-water safety standards during rain events.

The Harlem River, a waterway that connects the Hudson and East rivers, receives 1.9 billion gallons of raw sewage and polluted stormwater from the city’s overloaded sewer system, known as Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO), annually. That’s an average of 5 million gallons per day.

“The Harlem River is not a dumping ground—it is a vital waterway and a source of pride and recreation for the Bronx. Any proposal that weakens protections for our river is an affront to the health, dignity, and future of our community,” said Congressman and Bronx-native, Ritchie Torres, at a press conference on Tuesday.

The State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) put out a proposal in mid-April to give the Harlem River an “SB Wet Weather” classification. 

The move is part of a larger effort to update the water quality criteria of bodies of water across the state, and the Harlem River is the first up for discussion. The public is now invited to weigh in on the proposal and has until June 26 to submit comments. The DEC has until April of next year to make a final decision on the river’s future status.

But environmental groups say the classification proposed for the Harlem River would allow the city to relax water quality standards for bacteria found in the waterway up to 36 hours after wet weather events. 

“The SB Wet Weather classification is a cop-out because then the city gets to say: we actually don’t have to spend any more money on improving water quality in the Harlem River, since we are already meeting this lower standard,” said Em Ruby, advocacy and policy coordinator at the environmental group Riverkeeper.

Lifting water quality standards when it rains is problematic because rainfall is what drives the river’s CSO problem in the first place, experts say.

CSO pollution happens because the city’s archaic sewer system can’t handle the amount of water that comes in during a downpour. The pipes overflow and end up dumping untreated sewage into nearby waterways. 

With a total of 65 CSO outfalls feeding into its waters, the Harlem River receives the most combined sewage overflow out of any river in the state, according to the non-profit Swim Coalition.

Environmental advocates want the “wet weather” exemption to be dropped. Instead they propose an “SB classification“—which says the water must be clean enough to swim and fish in—ultimately pressuring the city to clean up the river to meet that higher standard.

“If that were to happen, the state would set the goal for New York City to ensure that the Harlem River has water quality that is safe for swimming 100 percent of the time, regardless of whether it rains or not,” Ruby explained.

The Inwood waterfront, Harlem River side, seen from the Bronx. (Photo by Adi Talwar)

But the DEC noted in email that although the SB Wet Weather classification includes an exemption for rain events, it’s an upgrade from the river’s current Class I status. This denomination means the city only needs to keep the water clean enough to allow for secondary contact recreation, like boating and fishing.

By upgrading the water quality classifications for rivers across the state, the DEC said in an email that it’s “making generational investments and improvements in protecting water quality and public health for future generations.”

“These landmark regulatory changes are unprecedented, building upon decades of ongoing progress to transform the Harlem River and other waters in and around New York City,” the Department added.

The DEC also defends the wet weather exemption in its proposal for the new classification, arguing that it would cost $9.3 billion dollars to build and replace new infrastructure that captures 100 percent of the CSO feeding into the Harlem River.

“It’s too costly. We understand why that’s impossible,” said Robert Fanuzzi, board member of the Bronx Council for Environmental Quality.

Instead, Fanuzzi and other environmentalists want the city to scale up alternatives. That means investing further in ongoing efforts to add rain gardens and green infrastructure to rooftops, so they absorb rainwater before it makes its way into the sewers and triggers an overflow. 

There are also gray infrastructure projects that can capture CSO at strategic points where overflow happens often, holding the sewage during a downpour so it can be redirected for treatment after a storm is over. 

New York City has already vowed to end the discharge of untreated sewage into the New York Harbor by 2060. Setting a higher standard now will push the city to invest in alternative infrastructure that tackles this city-wide problem, advocates say.

“The city should be working with community members to make sure they have access to the water and that it’s clean enough for swimming and fishing,” said Chauncy Young, coordinator at the Harlem River Coalition. And those efforts should be concentrated in the communities where pollution is at its worst, Young notes.

“The Hudson River is swimmable and fishable. Why is the Harlem River not?”

To reach the reporter behind this story, contact Mariana@citylimits.org. The reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org

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