[2] Napoleon's was a sacred ceremony held in the great cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris in the presence of Pope Pius VII.

Napoleon brought together various rites and customs, incorporating ceremonies of Carolingian tradition, the ancien régime, and the French Revolution, all presented in sumptuous luxury.

Among Napoleon's motivations for being crowned were to gain prestige in international royalist and Roman Catholic circles and to lay the foundation for a future dynasty.

[5] However, after the Pope's arrival, Napoleon persuaded the papal delegation to allow the introduction of several French elements in the rite[5] – such as the singing of the Veni Creator Spiritus followed by the collect of Pentecost for the monarch's entrance procession, the use of chrism instead of the oil of catechumens for the anointing (although the Roman anointing prayers were used), placing the sacred oil on the head and hands rather than the right arm and back of the neck, and the inclusion of several prayers and formulas from the coronations of French kings, to bless the regalia as it was delivered.

[6] Also, the special rite composed ad hoc allowed Napoleon to remain mostly seated and not kneeling during the delivery of the regalia and during several other ceremonies, and reduced his acceptance of the oath demanded by the Church in the beginning of the liturgy to one word only.

An unmanned balloon, ablaze with three thousand lights in an imperial crown pattern, was launched from the front of Notre Dame during the celebration.

[8]: 299  Josephine was at the same time formally clothed in a similar crimson velvet mantle embroidered with bees in gold thread and lined with ermine, which was borne by Napoleon's three sisters.

[citation needed] The coronation proper began with the singing of the hymn Veni Creator Spiritus, followed by the versicle, "Lord, send forth your Spirit" and response, "And renew the face of the earth" and the collect for the Feast of Pentecost, "God, who has taught the hearts of your faithful by sending them the light of your Holy Spirit,..." After this the prayer, "Almighty, everlasting God, the Creator of all..."[nb 2] During the Litany of the Saints, the Emperor and Empress remained seated, only kneeling for special petitions.

This differed to the usage of the French royal coronations, in which both formulas – the Roman Accipe coronam regni... and the Anglo-French Coronet te Deus... – were recited successively.

After the Mass was finished, the pope retired to the Sacristy, as he objected to presiding over or witnessing the civil oath that followed, due to its contents.

With his hands on the Bible, Napoleon took the oath: I swear to maintain the integrity of the territory of the Republic, to respect and enforce respect for the Concordat and freedom of religion, equality of rights, political and civil liberty, the irrevocability of the sale of national lands; not to raise any tax except in virtue of the law; to maintain the institution of Legion of Honour and to govern in the sole interest, happiness and glory of the French people.

[17] In addition to Jacques-Louis David's paintings, including the famous The Coronation of Napoleon, a commemorative medal was struck with the reverse design by Antoine-Denis Chaudet.

In 2005, a digital depiction of the coronation was made by Vaughan Hart, Peter Hicks, and Joe Robson for the "Nelson and Napoleon" Exhibition at the National Maritime Museum.