Five years after images of the Notre-Dame Cathedral on fire shocked the world, French President Emmanuel Macron visited the monument on Friday, November 29, and praised the efforts of over 2,000 craftspeople who helped restore it to its former glory.

Speaking in front of the designers, builders and architects who helped restore Notre-Dame, he said workers had done the “impossible” by healing a “national wound” after the fire on April 19, 2019.

“The blaze at Notre Dame was a national wound, and you have been its remedy through will, through work, through commitment,” he said, adding the cathedral’s re-opening will be a “shock of hope.”

The international team of craftspeople made every effort to remain faithful to the original look of the cathedral, which will welcome visitors and worshippers again over the December 7-8 weekend.