Greece offered a religious painting as a gift to the Notre Dame Cathedral on Saturday in celebration of the iconic landmark’s reopening after the devastating fire five years ago and in a gesture of friendship between the Greece and France.
Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou presented the gift during the event, as she joined 40 other world leaders who attended the event.
“Tonight the bells of Notre Dame ring anew,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in an address before the packed pews. “This cathedral is a happy metaphor for what a nation is, and what the world should be.”
The painting, created by a monk from Mount Athos, depicts the Virgin Mary as “Queen of the Bees”, to commemorate the miraculous survival of approximately 200,000 bees during the catastrophic 2019 fire. The bees, housed in hives on Notre Dame’s roof, became a symbol of hope and resilience amid the tragedy.
On the sidelines of the ceremony, President Sakellaropoulou held discussions with several of her counterparts including Germany’s Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who had recently visited Greece, Italy’s Sergio Mattarella and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
President Sakellaropoulou also engaged in a brief but meaningful conversation with the President Emmanuel Macron at an official dinner hosted by the French leader and First Lady Brigitte later on Saturday.
