Karol Darmoros
Record year
Zenit service quotes data from the French Centre for National Monuments (CMN). It reported that in 2025, the sites under its care exceeded the threshold of 12 million visitors for the first time in history. Cathedrals, towers, and treasuries recorded a particularly dynamic growth, even though the statistics only include ticketed spaces, excluding free church interiors.
Notre Dame Effect
The reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris after years of reconstruction has become an impulse for the entire country. Reims, Chartres, and Amiens recorded sharp increases in attendance, already referred to as the “Notre Dame effect”. In Amiens, the number of visitors increased by 95 percent to 26,564 people, in Chartres by 74 percent to 24.5 thousand, and the towers of Reims Cathedral attracted 43 percent more visitors – over 16 thousand people.
Monuments and Identity
Matthieu Lours, a historian of sacred architecture, emphasizes that the Notre Dame fire made people aware of the fragility of heritage that seemed obvious. In his opinion, cathedrals are now perceived as “spaces of comfort, identity, and shared pride,” and not merely relics of the past.
Meeting Place
According to the rector of Notre Dame, Father Olivier Ribadeau-Dumas, the 11 million visitors recorded by the end of November confirm the cathedral’s return to its role as a “universal place of hospitality.” As he notes, many come out of curiosity, but “return after leaving, ask for confession after several decades, or remain in silent prayer.”
Living Churches
In Catholic theology, cathedrals are not museums but living churches, whose purpose is sacramental and pastoral ministry. The increase in interest in 2025 shows that beauty and transcendence still speak to people, even in an increasingly secularized society.
