Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Notre Dame)

The Story

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart stands at the heart of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, its golden-topped spire rising beside the famous Golden Dome. It serves as the university church and as the mother church of the Congregation of Holy Cross in the United States, the religious community whose founder in America, Fr. Edward Sorin, established Notre Dame in 1842. The present Gothic revival church, replacing earlier campus chapels, was built in the latter decades of the nineteenth century and consecrated in 1888. Its interior is celebrated for the luminous murals of the Vatican painter Luigi Gregori, an exceptional collection of nineteenth-century French stained glass, and a bell tower that remains among the tallest university chapels in the country. Dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the church expresses the devotion that shaped the Congregation of Holy Cross and generations of students, alumni, and visitors. Pope St. John Paul II raised it to the rank of minor basilica in 1992. The basilica anchors the sacramental life of the university, with the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, a beloved replica of the Lourdes shrine, just below it. Together they make the campus a place of quiet pilgrimage for the Notre Dame family and for travelers throughout the year.

Church Recognition

Designated a minor basilica by Pope St. John Paul II in 1992; it serves as the University of Notre Dame's principal church and the mother church of the Congregation of Holy Cross in the United States.

Catholic Teaching

Devotion to the Sacred Heart honors the human and divine love of Christ, whose pierced heart is the sign of his redeeming love for all (CCC 478); the basilica's life of word and sacrament forms students and pilgrims in that love.

Plan Your Visit

Open only what you need. Expand all

Practical

1 Additional Information ▾

Adjacent to the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes on campus.

Go Deeper

Visit the basilica's official website at https://basilica.nd.edu, and read Pope Francis's encyclical Dilexit Nos (2024) on the human and divine love of the Heart of Jesus Christ.