Tuesday, June 16, 2009
The Basilique Sacré-Cœur (Basilica of the Sacred Heart) is a Roman Catholic Church located on the highest point of the city in Montmartre. The site of the 19th-century basilica is traditionally associated with the beheading of the city's patron, Saint Denis, in the 3rd century. According to legend, after he was martyred, Bishop Denis picked up his severed head and carried it several miles to the north where the city of Saint Denis stands today. The hill was later home to a large Benedictine abbey, which was destroyed at the French Revolution.
The chalky white Basilique Sacré-Coeur was designed by the architect Paul Abadie in a Romanesque-Byzantine architectural style. Its foundation stone was laid in 1875 but it wasn’t opened for worship until 1919. The triple-arched portico is surmounted by two bronze equestrian statues of France's national saints, Joan of Arc and King Saint Louis IX. The great bell, the Savoyarde, is one of the world's heaviest bells at 19 tons. Golden mosaics glow in the dim, echoing interior, and the mosaic of Christ in Majesty in the apse is one of the worlds largest. A climb to the top of the dome provides an excellent view of Paris - at 271 feet above Montmartre Hill it is the second-highest viewpoint after the Eiffel Tower. The view from the front steps of the basilica is quite excellent, and at the rear of the grounds is a contemplative garden and fountain. Interesting Fact: The Blessed Sacrament has been continually on display in a monstrance above the high altar. Perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament has continued uninterrupted in the Basilica since 1885. The crypt contains a relic that some believe to be
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