No. 22

    Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre

    Parvis du Sacré-Cœur, 18e

    The apse mosaic of the Sacré-Cœur
    The apse mosaic above the high altar. 11 March 2023, 12:43.

    The basilica answers a vow made after the defeat of 1870 and announced as a national vow in 1872. The National Assembly declared it of public utility in 1873, and Paul Abadie won the competition of 1874, drawing on Romanesque and Byzantine models. The first stone was laid on 16 June 1875. The church was opened for worship in 1891 and its bell tower finished in 1914; it was consecrated on 16 October 1919. Perpetual adoration, instituted in 1885, continues day and night.

    The apse mosaic of Christ in glory, designed by Luc-Olivier Merson and Henri-Marcel Magne, with Marcel Imbs, covers some 475 square meters. Its inscription reads GALLIA POENITENS ET DEVOTA ET GRATA: France penitent, devoted and grateful. The basilica was classified as a historic monument in 2022.

    Two visits are recorded, in March 2019 and March 2023. Below is one photograph from each.

    Photographs

    The nave of the Sacré-Cœur toward the dome and the apse. 27 March 2019, 13:01.

    Recorded visits

    Two recorded visits.

    • 27 March 2019
    • 11 March 2023

    Sources

    City of Paris, paris.fr; POP Mérimée PA75180004; Ministry of Culture, culture.gouv.fr; Diocese of Paris; Paris Notre-Dame, 31 Jul 2025.

    Photographs: Lud

    Hoc est opus. Et satis est.