An historic relic mentioned to have been worn by Jesus Christ at his crucifixion has returned to the Notre-Dame Cathedral, 5 years after it was saved from a fireplace that devastated the church.
The Crown of Thorns – comprised of a circle of rushes encased in a crystal and gold tube – was introduced again to the cathedral in a ceremony overseen by the Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich.
The crown was acquired by King Louis IX of France in Constantinople in 1239 for 135,000 livres – practically half France’s annual expenditure on the time.
Initially stored on the Sainte-Chapelle, it was moved to Notre-Dame’s treasury in 1806 the place it remained till a fireplace ripped by the 850-year-old constructing in 2019.
Firefighters and cops shaped a human chain to rescue the relic and different historic artefacts within the cathedral.
The hearth destroyed the cathedral’s picket interiors and its spire.
The crown, which was stored on the Louvre Museum at one level whereas the famed cathedral underwent intensive renovation, has been positioned in a newly constructed reliquary to interchange the one from 1806.
The ceremony marking its return was led by a procession attended by members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre – a Catholic order of knighthood.
The Crown of Thorns will probably be displayed for the general public from 10 January, French media stories.
The cathedral reopened its doorways to the general public on 8 December, after intensive restoration works which price a reported €700m (£582m) and concerned an estimated 2,000 masons, carpenters, restorers, roofers, foundry-workers, artwork specialists, sculptors and engineers.
Its reopening ceremony was attended by world leaders. In a speech on the occasion, French President Emmanuel Macron mentioned of the restoration: “We should treasure this lesson of fragility, humility and can.”
