FRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP/Getty ImagesThis week is Holy Week, when millions of Western Christians mark the death and resurrection of Jesus. Under normal circumstances, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris would have been preparing to display its holy relics to the faithful on Good Friday. For generations, Notre Dame has been a place of pilgrimage and prayer, and, even as religion in France has declined for decades, it remained the beating heart of French Catholicism, open every day for Mass. About the cathedral: Notre Dame is not a parish church, meaning that it does not have a regular body of worshippers who "belong" to the church. And every year during Holy Week, Notre Dame unveils some of the most coveted relics in Christendom.

Source: CNN April 15, 2019 17:25 UTC