Thirteen bells, each with a name and a job

Angelus — a short prayer recalling the Annunciation, traditionally said three times a day. A series of chimes calls people to pause and pray it, followed by a longer volley of bells.

Mass — the central act of Catholic worship: scripture readings, prayers, and the Eucharist (Communion).

Vigil Mass — a Mass celebrated on the evening before a Sunday or major feast day; attending it fulfills the obligation for the day that follows.

Gregorian Mass — a Mass sung using Gregorian chant, the traditional plainsong of the Roman rite.

Diocesan Mass — a Mass celebrated for, and often with, representatives of the wider Paris diocese.

Vespers (Evening Prayer) / First Vespers — part of the Liturgy of the Hours, the Church's daily cycle of set prayer; sung in the early evening. “First Vespers” liturgically opens a Sunday or feast day the evening before.

Lauds (Morning Prayer) — another of the daily prayer hours, sung near dawn.

Rosary (Chapelet) — a meditative prayer said with a string of beads, reflecting on events in the life of Christ and Mary.

Eucharistic adoration — a period of quiet prayer before the consecrated host, displayed for veneration outside of Mass.

Confessions — the sacrament of Reconciliation: individuals privately confess sins to a priest and receive absolution.

Cast in 1686, Emmanuel is Notre-Dame's great bourdon and one of the finest-sounding bells in Europe. It is reserved for major feasts (Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, All Saints), the election or death of a pope, and historic national moments — it rang for the Liberation of Paris in 1944 and was classified a French historic monument that same year, meaning it can never be recast or destroyed.

Cast in 2013 alongside the north tower bells, Marie is the smaller of the two south tower bourdons and rings alongside Emmanuel.

Named for the archangel Gabriel. Gabriel also strikes out the number of the hour after the clock melody.

Honours St. Anne, mother of Mary, and St. Geneviève, patron saint of Paris.

Named for St. Denis, the first bishop of Paris.

Named for St. Marcel, the ninth bishop of Paris.

Recalls Saint-Étienne de Paris, the 6th-century basilica dedicated to Saint Stephen that stood on the site before Notre-Dame.

Named for Pope Benedict XVI (born Joseph Ratzinger), who served as the bell's honorary godfather.

Named for Maurice de Sully, the 73rd bishop of Paris who began construction of the cathedral.

Named for Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, the 29th archbishop of Paris.

Stood trackside at the Stade de France during the 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, rung by victorious athletes. Now installed in the sanctuary and rung during every Mass.

Quarter hours — a short motif adapted from two 14th-century tunes, “Laudemus Virginem” and “Splendens Ceptigera”: one bar at quarter-past, two bars at half-past, three bars at quarter-to.

Full hours — one of roughly 50 rotating melodies, then Gabriel strikes out the number of the hour. At 9pm the melody is always the compline hymn “Te lucis ante terminum”.

The Angelus — rung at 8am (9am on weekends and holidays), noon, and 7pm: a short chime followed by about a four-minute volley, with variations during Lent and Eastertide.

The grand solennel rings every year on 11 November at 11am (Armistice) and 25 August at 7pm (Liberation of Paris, 1944).

A pope's election is usually marked with the grand solennel; a pope's death is marked by tolling their age on the bourdon.

The bells accompany a Te Deum service for moments of national thanksgiving — historically after coronations, royal births and military victories.

Emmanuel has also rung for moments of solidarity and mourning, including nearly an hour after the September 11 attacks in 2001, and after the Charlie Hebdo and November 2015 Paris attacks.