Notre Dame won't hold Christmas Mass for first time since French Revolution

Paris' famed Notre Dame will not hold Christmas Mass for the first time since the French Revolution — over two centuries — following a devastating fire in April, the AP reports.

Why it matters: The 855-year-old cathedral stayed open during both world wars and was only closed for Christmas in the period after 1789 when French revolutionaries turned the building into "a temple of reason," Notre Dame's rector told the AP. There will be a "Christmas-in-exile" at another Paris church, Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois, with one of Notre Dame's most famous sculptures "The Virgin of Paris" present.

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