Politely hidden behind construction hoarding, razor wire and a gauze of scaffolding, "Our Lady of Paris" has been healing.
Five years after the flames roared and the world held its breath, Notre Dame cathedral is coming back to life.
"lt's a wonder.
Even for us who are very often in the cathedral, it doesn't get old,it gets more beautiful every day,"Philippe Jost, the head of the effort to rebuild Notre Dame, said in November "There's a Sistine Chapel effect," he said of returning to the beloved landmark, with something to see and discover wherever you look.
With the cathedral set to open to the public on December 8, even today, the cause of the catastrophic fire that blazed through the monument on April 15,2019,remains a mystery. though investigators believe it was accidental.
Regardless,the numbers behind the reconstruction efforts are striking.
Restoring the historic monument to its former state has cost an estimated €700 million($737 million), according to Rebuilding Notre Dame de Paris, the public body headed by Jost which is responsible for the work.
Overall,€846 million($891 million)were raised in donations from 340,000 donors in 150
countries, with the extra funds used to restore other monuments.
Beyond that,there are the materials used in its rebuilding:The tallest oak felled was 27 meters tal (88 feet high),1,300 cubic meters of stone were replaced,8,000 organ pipes(belonging to France'slargestinstrument)cleaned and retuned,1,500 solid oak pews hewed-all the work of 2,000 dedicated artisans.
The result of their labor is even more impressive A few steps beneath the cascading statues of the cathedral's magnificent facade, dark gives way to light .
The naked columns of the cathedral soar up to the ceiling;the walls, stripped of centuries of dust and grime, appear brand new.
The cost of the fire hasn'tjust been financial - the careful cleaning and restoration has stolen some of the mystical gloom and charm that visitors will remember.
But those responsible hope it will ensure the health of the building for centuries to come.
France'sPresidentEmmanuel Macron set an ambitious target for reconstruction five years ago and, with his visit on Friday, returned to thank the hundreds who doused the flames and helped with restorations.
Over much of the preceding 2,055 days, the site had been a hive of industry, with teams cleaning marble mosaics,retouching frescoes and clambering over the anthill of scaffolding that filled the center of the landmark.
CNN teams have visited Notre Dame several times. since the fire, even as the work ploughed on through Covid-19's stranglehold on France.
For CNN cameraman Mark Esplin,one change hasbeen most striking.
He recalls how there was still a "huge hole in the ceiling" when he was granted permission to tour the site in 2019, adding:"You could see right up to the sky." Like many in 2019, a CNN team watched in horror, mere meters away, as the cathedral's spire was wrapped in flames before toppling to the ground.
Late in the evening, they heard hundreds of people gathered around the landmark raise their voices in hymn.
"l remember the smell .. Mark andl got so close.
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