Museum and Tours

Enjoy one of Notre Dame’s most beloved places…Take a step back in time and into the timeless.

What can you find in the Basilica's museum?

  • Uncover Notre Dame’s past through many artifacts from the history of the Congregation of Holy Cross as well as the Catholic Church.
  • Discover for yourself the exciting beginnings of this great school as seen through the eyes of its visionary founder, Fr. Sorin, and his memorabilia.

Take a Tour

Located in the Sacristy, the Basilica’s museum is open to the public. You may also choose to take a self-guided tour.

  • Monday – Friday 9:00 am – 11:00 am
  • Saturday 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm (call for information)
  • Sunday 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
  • Contact: (574) 631-7329

Visitor Tips

  • The best time to come is in January, February, or March, when it isn’t so busy.
  • If you are here during the football season, stop by.
  • Ask your tour guide to open the old trunk that belonged to the Basilica’s painter, Luigi Gregori, from around 1874. Try to figure out what you see inside. *
  • Check out the studio where Notre Dame televises Mass every Sunday. *
  • Try to guess what the bas-relief of the Madonna is made of. *

*Bishops' Collection tour only

Visitor Facts

50,000 visitors per year
  • In June 2006: 7,000 visitors
  • Mennonites come to pray before the relics of St. Marcellus, whom they honor because he gave his life for refusing to serve in the Roman army.

    • Souvenirs for Sale

    • Book about the windows and murals in the Basilica
    • Small prints
    • Grotto stories
    • Postcards, cards, and envelopes

    Test yourself and discover more about this Notre Dame historical site by answering these questions!

    1. When is the feast day of the Sacred Heart of Jesus?
    2. How far back does the Sacred Heart of Jesus feast day go?
    3. Where was St. Augustine during the dramatic moment of his conversion?
    4. What is the second most famous church in Paris dedicated to Mary?
    5. What edifice on campus was built by relying on memory?
    6. Whose bones are located in the Reliquary Chapel?
    7. What was a job Rev. John O'Hara CSC held besides being ND’s 13th President?
    8. What did the Basilica’s painter, Luigi Gregori, once do?
    9. How long did the murals on the walls and ceilings take to complete?

    Answers

    1. The Friday following the second Sunday after Pentecost.
    2. It has medieval roots, expanded at the onset of the 17th century.
    3. In a garden.
    4. Notre Dame des Victoires.
    5. Fr. Badin's log chapel reconstruction was based on the memories of several Holy Cross brothers who lived there in the 1850s.
    6. Saint Severa, a martyr in the third century.
    7. Cardinal Archbishop of Philadelphia.
    8. He was an artist-in-residence at the Vatican under Pope Pius IX.
    9. 17 years.