With heavy hearts, French Catholics instead gathered at the nearby church of Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois, a few hundred metres away, for a service celebrated by the cathedral's rector Patrick Chauvet. "It isn't the same feeling but it's still a Christmas Mass," said 16-year-old Juliette, who had made the 700-kilometre trip from Aix with her family. "We have been crying since April 15, and today even more," said Danielle, a Parisian, who attended last year's mass at the Paris landmark. However, she was lifted by the choir of Notre-Dame, who performed at the mass. The culture ministry said in October that nearly one billion euros ($1.1 billion) had been pledged or raised for the reconstruction.

Source: The Local December 25, 2019 05:37 UTC