Paris's Notre Dame cathedral celebrates 850 years

One of Paris's most popular tourist sites, the Notre Dame cathedral will celebrate its 850th birthday with a lavish program of events, running throughout an entire year from December 12 through November 23, 2013.

One of Paris's most popular tourist sites, the Notre Dame cathedral will celebrate its 850th birthday with a lavish program of events, running throughout an entire year from December 12 through November 23, 2013.

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On December 12, at 6:00 pm, Cardinal André Vingt-Trois, Archbishop of Paris, will lead a procession of about 100 clergy into Notre Dame for a mass, starting at 6:30.

Other events are also in the cards for the year of festivities. An exclusive stamp collection featuring the monument's stained glass windows will be launched January 19.

On February 2, Notre-Dame's nine new bells will be inaugurated. The new bells replace the cathedral's audio equipment destroyed during the French Revolution. Visitors and citizens will, from that date, be able to hear the cathedral's bells ring as they did in the 18th century.

Music will be at the heart of the celebrations with 25 sacred music concerts scheduled to take place inside the cathedral from December 18 through December 10, 2013.

The anniversary celebrations officially wrap up on November 24, 2013.