David J. Phillip / AP
Alabama's AJ McCarron holds The Coaches' Trophy after the BCS National Championship college football game against Notre Dame Monday, Jan. 7, 2013, in Miami. Alabama won 42-14. Read the full story.
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Priests celebrate Notre Dame Cathedral's 850th anniversary in Paris, Dec. 12, 2012.
Patrick Kovarick / AFP - Getty Images
Archbishop Andre Vingt-Trois leads a Pontifical Mass during Notre Dame Cathedral's 850th anniversary in Paris, Dec. 12.
Associated Press reports — Dignitaries, tourists and Parisians gathered in the thousands Wednesday for a ceremony and Mass marking the beginning of year-long commemoration of Notre Dame Cathedral's 850th anniversary.
The 12th-century Gothic cathedral looming over the heart of the French capital will get a set of new bells in February, one of the highlights of a year's worth of planned events including seminars, concerts of sacred music and the issuance of commemorative stamps.
Archbishop Andre Vingt-Trois and Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe are among the civil and religious dignitaries taking part in Wednesday evening events marking the beginning of the cathedral's construction in 1163.
After the Mass, French Interior Minister Manuel Valls spoke in front of the huge wooden doors of the cathedral's Portal of the Last Judgment.
Noting that the cathedral had survived the reigns of "80 kings, two emperors and five republics," Valls said the cathedral's 850th anniversary "is moving for all who see in its towers the image of France in all its greatness."
Each year the cathedral sees 14 million visitors. Five Masses a day are held during the week, and seven on Sunday. The structure took nearly 90 years to build.
Yoan Valat / EPA
Priests take part in Notre Dame Cathedral's 850th anniversary ceremony in Paris, Dec. 12.
Yoan Valat / EPA
Priests celebrate Notre Dame Cathedral's 850th anniversary ceremony in Paris, Dec. 12.
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Natalie Achonwa of Notre Dame reaches for the ball against Ashley Adams of Ohio State during the Walmart Carrier Classic on the deck of the USS Yorktown in Charleston, S.C., Nov. 9, 2012.
Charles Platiau / Reuters
A craftsman covers the cope of a bell mold made from clay, horse-dung and horse-hair, as he works to produce bronze bells ordered at the French foundry Cornille Havard in Villedieu-les-Poeles in Normandy on Oct. 17.
Charles Platiau / Reuters
Stephane Mouton cleans and inspects the bronze bell 'Maurice' after removing the mold at the French bell foundry Cornille Havard.
Charles Platiau / Reuters
Craftsman Stephane Mouton cleans and inspects the bronze bell 'Maurice' after removing the mold at the French bell foundry Cornille Havard.
Charles Platiau / Reuters
Craftsman Stephane Mouton looks at 'Maurice', a bronze bell which is lifted from the pit at the French bell foundry Cornille Havard.
Charles Platiau / Reuters
Bronze bells are seen in the courtyard of the French bell foundry Cornille Havard in Villedieu-les-Poeles in Normandy.
French bell foundry Cornille Havard in Villedieu-les-Poeles in Normandy was chosen to design and cast eight replacement bronze bells for the north tower of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, set to be finished in time to ring for the 850th anniversary of the cathedral next year.
The new bells will have the same weight and diameter as the ones from the 18th-century that were melted down and turned into cannons during the French Revolution. They will be designed to recreate the centuries old sound by using the same medieval forging methods.
Gonzalo Fuentes / Reuters
People attend the White Dinner event in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris June 16, 2011. Participants attend the dinner, which takes place at a different place in Paris every year, are required to be dressed in white, bring their own food, drink and cutlery to the event.
Gonzalo Fuentes / Reuters
People attend the White Dinner event in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
Here's more about the "diner en blanc" and some pictures of past dinners.
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