Teams repairing damage from the April 15, 2019 blaze had to remove the bells — from the largest, “Gabriel”, to the smallest, “Jean-Marie” — from Notre-Dame’s north tower last July to complete their work.
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The bells themselves have been cleaned of lead dust thrown off by the church’s burning roof and restored at a foundry in Normandy in northern France before their delivery by truck back to Paris.
Notre-Dame rector Olivier Ribadeau Dumas was to bless the peal of eight bells, each named after a significant figure from the cathedral’s history, later on Thursday.
Heavyweight “Gabriel” weighs more than 4.1 tonnes, while the lightest, “Jean-Marie” clocks in at a dainty 782 kilogrammes.
Notre Dame has 20 bells in total, including two massive bourdons — the largest weighing 13 tonnes — producing the lowest notes that hang in the south tower, which are rung for major Church events such as Easter, Christmas or the death or election of a Pope.
First completed in 1345 after almost two centuries of construction, the cathedral is set to reopen on December 7th after a massive restoration effort that is still under way.
Around 10 million people per year visited the church before the fire.
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