Notre Dame celebrates first mass in five years after devastating fire

Archbishop of Paris consecrates the cathedral’s new altar with perfumed oil to the sound of the restored organ

Parisians, the French and the world rediscovered the breathtaking beauty of the Notre Dame de Paris cathedral on Saturday evening, five years after it was devastated by fire.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, led a guest list of international heads of state and other dignitaries including Donald Trump, the Prince of Wales, politicians and celebrities in lauding what he described as a triumph of the French nation in raising the monument from the ashes and making his country “united and proud”.