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Saint André Bessette, C.S.C. (1845-1937), founder of St. Joseph’s Oratory, Montréal, Canada, was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 17, 2010. The statue of Saint André Bessette was designed by the Rev. Anthony Lauck, C.S.C. (1985). Saint André’s feast day is January 6.

The Bishops’ Museum, located in the Basilica’s basement, contains pontificalia of various American bishops, dating from the 19th century.

A “minor basilica” is a special designation given by the Pope to certain churches because of their antiquity, dignity, historical importance or significance as places of worship and devotion. They are typically honored with these two symbols (see nos. 9 and 17), in addition to the Papal Coat of Arms, located over the outside main entrance. The Tintinnabulum, or bell, is adorned with the insignia of the Roman Pontiff and the coat of arms of the Basilica; The Ombrellino, or umbrella, is a mark of honor for the church in which it is displayed.

BASILICA OF THE SACRED HEART FLOOR PLAN

1. Font,Ambry,PaschalCandle2. HoltkampOrgan(1978)3. SanctuaryCrossing4. SealoftheCongregationofHolyCross5. AltarofSacrifice6. Ambo(Pulpit)7. OriginalAltar/Tabernacle8. EastTranseptandWorldWarIMemorial

Entrance9. Tintinnabulum10. St.JosephChapel(Pietà)11. St.Mary/Bro.AndréChapel12. ReliquaryChapel13. TheLadyChapel/BaroqueAltar14. HolyAngels/GuadalupeChapel15. MuralofOurLadyofLourdes16. OurLadyofVictory/BasilMoreauChapel17. Ombrellino18. StationsoftheCrossChapel/Tombof

JohnCardinalO’Hara,C.S.C.19. Sacristy20. BasilicaMuseum

Self-Guided Tour of the BasilicaThis tour takes you from the baptismal font near the main entrance, down the center aisle to the sanctuary, then right to the east apsidal chapels, back to the Lady Chapel, and then to the west side chapels. The Basilica museum may be reached through the west transept.

The Holtkamp organ, installed in 1978, has four divisions, three manuals, 54 ranks of pipes, 40 stops and 2,929 pipes.

The original Gothic Revival altar, designed by Froc-Robert and Sons of Paris, was displayed at the Philadelphia Exposition in 1876 where it won a first premium for design. The tabernacle tower, where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved, was inspired by Revelation 21:9-14, the vision of the new Jerusalem. Beneath the altar are the relics of St. Marcellus, a third-century centurion martyr; in the altar are the relics of Sts. Stephen and Sebastian, martyrs of the same period.

Under the crossing, depicting the four evangelists and various Old Testament prophets, begins the sanctuary area. At the sanctuary’s edge is the seal of the Congregation of Holy Cross. Here men of this religious community profess final vows and are ordained priests (See 4).

The altar of sacrifice, made from pews and choir stalls of the Lady Chapel, was designed in light of the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

The famed Ivan Mestrovic Pietà (1942), made of Carara marble, first shown in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was then loaned to Notre Dame by the former Croatian artist-in-residence. A replica of this Pietà is located in the Vatican Art Museum.

This mural (left), one of 56 such murals in the Basilica painted by Luigi Gregori, depicts the apparition of Our Lady of Lourdes to St. Bernadette in 1858. Be sure to visit the Grotto, just northwest of the Basilica. It is a one-seventh-size replica of the famed French shrine.

The Reliquary Chapel contains relics of most of the saints in the calendar of the Liturgical Year. The large wooden cross contains a relic of the True Cross, and is venerated every Good Friday. The wax figure is of St. Severa, a third century martyr. The cloth covered boxes at her head and feet contain her relics. Above the relic case is a copy of a portion of Raphael’s fresco, Disputa.

Pentecost window, designed by the Carmelite Sisters of Le Mans, France, and painted by Eugène Hucher and associates.

Celebration of Paschal Vespers

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The Our Lady of Victory Chapel contains a statue of Blessed Basil Moreau, C.S.C., priest (1799-1873), founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross. He was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI September 15, 2007. Sculpted by Robert Graham, the statue contains a relic of Blessed Basil Moreau.

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History

Long before the French priest, Edward Sorin, C.S.C., and seven Holy Cross Brothers arrived at the shores of St. Mary’s Lake in November, 1842, missionaries had visited this area and had established missions

here. Fr. Jacques Marquette, S.J., may have been the first European to explore the area as early as 1675. It is known for certain that Robert de la Salle explored this area around 1679. In 1686, Fr. Claude Allouez, S.J., established a mission on the south shore of St. Mary’s Lake, several hundred yards west of the Basilica. Allouez named the mission Ste.-Marie-des-Lacs, the first Catholic mission to serve the local Potawatomi tribe, as well as French trappers and settlers in the area. Following the French and Indian War in 1763, the British expelled Catholic missionaries from the area. Later, in 1832, a missionary priest, Fr. Stephen Badin, the first Catholic priest ordained in the United States, reestablished the mission begun by Fr. Allouez. Ten years later, Fr. Edward Sorin, C.S.C., accompanied by seven Holy Cross Brothers, sent to Indiana by Blessed Basil Moreau, the founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross, assumed pastoral responsibility for this area and renamed the mission Notre Dame du Lac. He replaced the chapel built by Fr. Badin with a much larger chapel

which served the community until 1848 when the “Old Church” of the Sacred Heart was erected. That church was only ninety feet long, thirty feet wide, and twenty-four feet high. In 1870, construction on the present Basilica was begun. The cornerstone was blessed in 1871. Built in the style of Gothic Revival, the Basilica is in the form of a Latin cross, 275 feet long and 114 feet wide.

The first Mass was celebrated here in 1875. The Basilica was consecrated by Bishop Joseph Dwenger of Fort Wayne, Indiana, on August 15, 1888. In addition to its sanctuary and seven apsidal chapels, the Basilica has forty-four large stained glass windows, including 114 life-sized pictures of saints, and 106 smaller scenes, produced in the 1870s and 1880s at the Carmelite Sisters’ glass works in Le Mans, France, under artistic and archaeological director, Eugène Hucher. The fifty-six murals and Stations of the Cross were painted during the 1870s by Luigi Gregori, artist of the Papal Household of Blessed Pius IX and Professor of Art at Notre Dame. Members of Gregori’s family as well as faculty and students served as models for many of the scenes; Holy Cross priests and brothers who then lived on campus likewise served as models for the figures of the Stations. The tower of the Basilica, 218 feet high, contains a bass bell, or bourdon, weighing some eight tons, as well as possibly the oldest carillon in North America, consisting of twenty-three bells, with a compass of two and one half octaves. In 1968, the church sanctuary was renovated according to the liturgical reforms mandated by the Second Vatican Council. From 1988 through 1991, the church underwent a thorough restoration, executed by the Conrad Schmitt Studios of New Berlin, Wisconsin. On January 17, 1992, Pope John Paul II designated the church a minor basilica.

World War I Memorial Vestibule with Ceiling Insignias (East Entrance)

The original baptismal font, built in 1871, has been restored and moved to the entrance of the Basilica. The nearby ambry contains the Oil of Catechumens used in the baptism of children and the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults; the Oil of the Sick used in the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick; and the Sacred Chrism used in the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders, as well as in the consecration of churches.

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The Lady Chapel, known historically as the Chapel of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (depicted in the ceiling painted by Luigi Gregori) and Sacred Heart Chapel, was added on to the Basilica in 1886 to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of Fr. Sorin’s ordination in 1888. The baroque altar was believed to have been built by the studios/workshops of Bernini (+1680). The tabernacle doors contain a fragment of wood believed to be from a table on which St. Peter celebrated Mass in Rome.

The Holy Angels Chapel contains a beautifully framed picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe, painted by Maria Tomasula, Professor of Art and Art History and The Michael P. Grace II Chair in Arts and Letters, University of Notre Dame (2008). Our Lady of Guadalupe was declared Patroness of the Americas by Pope Pius XII (1946).

The Stations of the Cross Chapel contains the body of John Cardinal O’Hara, C.S.C. (1888-1960), twelfth President of the University of Notre Dame (1934-1940), later bishop of Buffalo and Cardinal Archbishop of Philadelphia.

The Basilica’s museum displays many artifacts from the history of the Congregation of Holy Cross and The University of Notre Dame. Located just west of the sacristy, it contains many of Fr. Sorin’s memorabilia. It is open to the public.

Photos by Mr. Matt Cashore.

Text: Rev. Peter Rocca, C.S.C.

Layout and design: Professor Robert Barger, Rev. Peter Rocca, C.S.C., and Mr. John Zack

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Basilica of the Sacred Heart

University of Notre DameNotre Dame, Indiana

Welcome!

On behalf of my fellow Holy Cross priests and brothers here at the University of Notre Dame, I want to welcome you to the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. For over 125 years this Basilica has

served as the mother church of the Congregation of Holy Cross in the United States. It is here that Holy Cross religious profess final vows, that our seminarians are ordained priests and where our deceased religious are commended to God. Likewise, it has been a place of worship and prayer for students, faculty, staff, and alumni, as well as for our regular worshipers, pilgrims, and countless visitors. This “splendid monument to God’s glory” (Rev. Edward Sorin, C.S.C., Founder of Notre Dame) stands as a fitting sign of what is central to the life and mission of Notre Dame. May your visit to this magnificent Basilica, restored, preserved, and renewed, remind you of the splendor of God’s glory and fill you with his compassion and love.

Sincerely yours in Notre Dame, Rev. Peter D. Rocca, C.S.C.Rector

The seal of the Congregation of Holy Cross: it is here that Holy Cross religious profess their perpetual vows and are ordained priests.

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