The restoration project at Notre-Dame de la Garde comes to an end after several months of work. The basilica’s re-gilded statue will be inaugurated on Sunday December 7 during a ceremony and an artistic sequence.
After regaining her crown, the Good Mother is preparing to shine again. More than ten months after the start of the renovation project, the monumental statue of Notre-Dame de la Garde is preparing to be inaugurated on December 7, the time of an exceptional ceremony.
“It was February 2, 2025: the restoration project of Notre-Dame de la Garde began in a symbolic way with a blessing of the workers and tools at Saint-Victor Abbey. For ten months, these exceptional craftsmen put all their talent at the service of the Good Mother so that the people of Marseillaise can find her, more beautiful than ever!”recall the services of the basilica in a press release announcing the holding of the ceremony on Sunday at the end of the day.
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A sound and light show
From 3:30 p.m., a mass presided over by Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline will be celebrated at Saint-Victor Abbey. A gathering will be held at the end of this mass at Place Joseph-Étienne with a view to a procession towards Notre-Dame de la Garde. Then, at 6 p.m., the cardinal will perform a blessing, preceded by a ten-minute sound and light show called “Elevation”. For the occasion, the Diocese of Marseille will bring DJ Michaël Canitrot, the Marseillaise opera singer Melody Louledjian and the choir “Des Petits Chanteurs de la Major” directed by Rémy Littolff, diocesan delegate for music of the diocese of Marseille.
“Dozens of projectors will illuminate the “Good Mother”, offering a spectacle visible to the entire city and beyond. A poetic choreography of light will accompany the music, marrying the architecture of the monument and revealing the golden shine of the statue in a ballet of beams and reflections.indicate the basilica services, which specify that the sanctuary will be closed to the general public for security reasons. The show will be visible around the basilica and in particular from the Pharo palace or the town hall.
“I invite all Marseillais, whatever their faith, their religion, their research, to gather around the Good Mother”reacted the rector of the sanctuary, Olivier Spinosa. On October 17, the curious were already able to observe the impressive “coronation” of the Good Mother by helicopter. The celebrations also aim to thank the 40,000 donors who paid no less than 2.8 million euros to ensure the installation of tens of thousands of gold leaves necessary for the restoration of the statue.