Explore inside the Basilica
Entrance to the Basilica
Entry into the Church, entry into the mystery of Christ
Located immediately inside the center front door of the Basilica is the baptismal font, signifying a person's entry into the Church.
The baptismal font is not only used for baptisms. It is also used by people who, upon entering the Basilica, dip their fingers into the Holy Water and make the sign of the cross on themselves as a reminder of their own baptism by which they entered the Church through association with the Paschal mystery of Christ's death and resurrection.
The wooden bottom of the baptismal font was part of the original font used by Rev. Edward Sorin, CSC, the founder of the University of Notre Dame.
The marble bowl on top of the wooden base was recently added.
Behind the font to the left stands the Ambry. This glass cabinet contains the Holy Oils, used in various sacramental celebrations of the Church.
Sacred Chrism (a mixture of balm and olive oil) is used in Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders; the Oil of Catechumens is used in preparation for Baptism; and the Oil of the Sick in the anointing of those who are ill.
To the right of the font is the Paschal Candle, used in the celebration of the Rite of Baptism.
The Main Altar
1800s Parisian company sells an altar "flowing with gold”
The main altar was purchased by Rev. Edward Sorin, CSC, from a firm in Paris whose director promised an altar "flowing with gold."
Before arriving at Notre Dame, the altar was displayed at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876 where it won first prize for design. See a picture of this altar at the 1876 Centenial Exposition.
The French flamboyant Gothic style corresponds to the style imitated in the stained glass windows. A number of slender columns sustain the 12–sided city of Jerusalem tabernacle, which is crowned with the Lamb of God holding the cross (inspired by the Book of Revelation, Chapter 21).
Its doors are decorated with plates bearing the names of the 12 tribes of Israel. Each of the 12 gates is guarded by an angel; 12 foundations, each bearing the name of one of the Apostles, support the wall.
Beneath the altar are the relics of Saint Marcellus, a third century centurion, beheaded for refusing to serve in the Roman army. In the altar stone are relics of Saints Stephen and Sebastian as well as other martyrs of that period.
The Ombrellino
Originally a protection from the weather
The Ombrellino, located to the left of the main altar, is a mark of honor for a basilica in which it is displayed and is carried in procession just behind the tintinnabulum.
Originally it served as protection from the weather; today its function is symbolic.
The pavilion is made of alternating yellow and red strips, embroidered with symbols associated with the Basilica.
Sacred Heart's Ombrellino is adorned with the coat of arms of Pope John Paul II; with the seals of the Congregation of Holy Cross, of the University of Notre Dame, of the Basilica, and of the diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend; and with the symbols of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (to whom the Church was first consecrated; and whose feast is the titular feast of the Holy Cross Fathers); of St. Joseph (patron of the Holy Cross Brothers); and of the Mother of Sorrows (patroness of the Holy Cross Sisters and the principal patroness of the entire Congregation of Holy Cross).
The Organ
The organ in the Basilica was installed in 1978 by the Holtkamp Organ Company of Cleveland and replaced the original organ, which was purchased in 1875. This organ has four divisions, three manuals, 54 ranks of pipes, 40 stops, and 2,929 pipes.
ORGAN SPECIFICATIONS
Holtkamp Organ - Basilica of the Sacred Heart
Great........................................................Positive
| Quintadena | 16’ | Copula | 8’ |
| Rohr Gedackt | 8’ | Prestant | 4’ |
| Octave | 4’ | Rohrflöte | 4’ |
| Spitz Flöte | 4’ | Nazard | 2’ 2/3 |
| Super Octave | 2’ | Doublette | 2’ |
| Mixture | IV | Tierce | 1’ 3/5 |
| Scharff | III | Glockenlein | 1’ |
| Trumpet | 8’ | Fourniture | IV |
| Krummhorn | 8’ | ||
| Fanfare | 8’ | ||
| Tremolo | |||
Swell..................................................................Pedal
| Voix Celeste | 8’ | Bourdon | 32’ |
| Gamba | 8’ | Principal | 16’ |
| Hohl Flöte | 8’ | Quintadena | 16’ |
| Principal | 4’ | Bourdon | 16’ |
| Holz Gedackt | 4’ | Octave | 8’ |
| Wald Flöte | 2’ | Flute | 8’ |
| Larigot | 1’ 1/3 | Choral Bass | 4’ |
| Plein Jeu | IV | Nachthorn | 4’ |
| Dulzian | 16’ | Rausch Bass | IV |
| Fagott | 8’ | Posaune | 16’ |
| Clarion | 4’ | Trumpet | 8’ |
| Tremolo | Schalmey | 4’ |
Swell/Pedal
Positive/Pedal
Swell/Great
Positive/Great
Swell/Positive
6 general pistons on 8 levels of SSL
4 divisional pistons
Szforzando
The Apsidal Chapels
Pietà Chapel
The first chapel directly to the right of the main altar contains the famed Ivan Mestrovic PietÀ. The carrara marble statue, first shown in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was loaned to Notre Dame by the former Croatian artist-in-residence.
Brother Andre Chapel
The chapel next to the PietÀ Chapel honors Blessed Brother Andre Bessette, CSC, (above) widely known for his kindness and hospitality to the poor and sick.
Founder of the Saint Joseph's Oratory in Montreal, he was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1982. The statue was designed by Rev. Anthony Lauck, CSC, professor emeritus of art at Notre Dame.
Reliquary Chapel
Relics of the manger, the Blessed Virgin, and the True Cross
To the right off the Lady Chapel is the Reliquary Chapel. Found here are the relics of each of the 12 Apostles; a piece of the manger at Bethlehem; pieces of the veil and belt of the Blessed Virgin; and relics of all of the saints in the Church calendar. The large wood cross contains a relic of the True Cross.
The wax figure is that of Saint Severa, a martyr in the third century; the cloth-covered lead boxes at the head and feet of the wax figure contain her bones.
Above the relic repository is a copy of a portion of Raphael's fresco Disputa. On the opposite wall is an exact replica of the Miraculous Madonna of Czestochowa (pictured above).
The Lady Chapel
The Lady Chapel behind the sanctuary, also known historically as the Chapel of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (because of the painting on the ceiling there) and Sacred Heart Chapel, was constructed in 1886 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Fr. Sorin's ordination in 1888.
The only one of its kind in North America and one of only nine in the world, the baroque altar is said to be built sometime between 1680 and 1730 by the Bernini studios in Rome.
The tabernacle door contains a fragment of wood from a table on which St. Peter is said to have presided at the Eucharist in Rome, and the figure of Christ on the Cross is made from wood from an olive tree grown in the Holy Land.
The ceiling paintings commemorate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The windows express devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The Blessed Virgin statue above the altar was a gift of the Notre Dame Senior Archconfraternity in 1889. It was imported from France.
Guadalupe Chapel
Emperor Napoleon III gave crucifix for Our Lady on the Dome
To the left of the Lady Chapel is a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe, who is the patroness of the Americas.
In addition to this beautiful painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the chapel also contains a large crucifix given to Fr. Sorin by the Emperor Napoleon III. It also contains a large crown originally intended for the statue of Our Lady, which is situated on top of the Golden Dome on the Administration Building. (Above photo courtesy of Jeff Weiser)
Prodigal Son Chapel
The Prodigal Son Chapel contains the bronze statue of the Prodigal Son by Ivan Mestrovic. True to the Gospel parable of the Prodigal Son, Mestrovic puts the emphasis on the Forgiving Father.
To the right of the Prodigal Son statue is a replica of the statue of Saint Peter, which is located near the high altar in Saint Peter's Basilica, Vatican City.
Cardinal O'Hara Chapel
The last chapel, to the left of the main altar, contains the tomb of John Cardinal O'Hara, CSC, the 13th President of the University of Notre Dame and a former Cardinal Archbishop of Philadelphia.
The Murals
The murals on the walls and ceilings are the work of Luigi Gregori, an artist-in-residence at the Vatican under Pope Pius IX. The painter came to Notre Dame in 1874 at the request of Fr. Sorin and spent 17 years completing his work.
Among the more striking paintings are The Exaltation of the Holy Cross on the ceiling of the Lady Chapel, The Coronation of the Virgin Mary as Queen of Heaven on the arch outside the chapel, and two paintings on the left and right outside the chapel, The Virgin Mary Appearing to St. Bernadette at Lourdes, and The Death of St. Joseph.
The center piece on the ceiling over the sanctuary is a mural of the prophets: Moses, David, Jeremiah, and Isaiah, and the four evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
Even Fr. Sorin served as a model for the figures
The Stations of the Cross were also painted by Luigi Gregori. The 12th and 13th stations were displayed at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Members of Gregori's family, Fr. Sorin, and many priests, brothers, and lay men served as models for the figures in the seven–foot station and murals.
Sacred Heart of Jesus
Feast Day: Friday following the second Sunday after Pentecost
The Sacred Heart of Jesus is the focus of various devotional exercises, litanies, societies, and religious communities. It is a devotion with medieval roots, expanded at the onset of the 17th century.
Mary
Feast Day: Day following Sacred Heart of Jesus
This mural represents a devotion fostered by Saint John Eudes (1601–80). The Immaculate Heart of Mary is the focus of various devotional exercises, societies, and religious communities.
Saint Agnes
Feast Day: January 21
Saint Agnes (whose name in Latin means lamb) was a young woman martyred under the Roman Emperor Diocletian around the early third century. She is the patroness of Christian virtue confronted by political and social violence. She is represented with a martyr's palm and lamb.
Saint Augustine
Feast Day: August 28
Saint Augustine of Hippo is the patron of the Augustinians. He dates to 384 to 430. He holds the book of his autobiographical Confessions with its words, "Tolle et Lege” ("Take and Read").
These recall the dramatic moment of his conversion: in a garden, when he heard a child's voice repeating these words, he found in the Scriptures a passage from Paul that inspired him to set aside his former life.
Saint Benedict
Feast Day: July 11
Saint Benedict was the father of monastic life in Europe, indeed of religious life in the West. Here an incident from his life shows him blessing a glass of wine offered to him, wine that had just been poisoned. His blessing nullified the poison.
Saint Cecilia
Feast Day: November 22
Saint Cecilia was a Roman aristocrat, martyred in the early third century and buried near martyred popes on the Appian Way. Tradition views her as the patroness of musicians because of the Song of God in her heart, and so here she is playing a small pipe organ.
Saint Gregory
Feast Day: September 3
Saint Gregory the Great (c. 540 – 604), pope and doctor of the Church, is writing down his theology as the Holy Spirit (symbolized by the dove) inspires him. Gregory was particularly popular in the 19th century because he was pope and theologian; this combination was a statement of the movement after 1830 for the papacy to view itself as the principal theological teacher of the Universal Church.
Saint Ignatius
Feast Day: July 31
Saint Ignatius holds a book containing on one page the motto of his Society of Jesus, "Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam" ("For the Greater Glory of God") and on the other page, the logo, "IHS," the first three letters in Greek of the name Jesus. He gave the pattern for the third large group of religious orders in the West with the establishment of the Society of Jesus in 1540, a format different from the life of the monks (Benedict) or of the Friars (Dominic). The Congregation of Holy Cross would develop further this mode of religious life.
Saint Luke
Feast Day: October 18
The picture here is a close up of Luke's mural found at the intersection of the nave and transept.
Luke's Gospel begins with the infancy narrative, wherein Jesus is born in a stable with an ox. Notice that Luke is not holding as his Gospel a book, but a painting of Mary and Jesus. This points to a tradition that Luke was an artist. He is the patron saint of doctors, artists, and butchers.
Saint Rose
Feast Day: August 23
Saint Rose of Lima (1586 – 1617), a Peruvian Dominican Tertiary, is the first saint of the New World. She took Catherine of Siena as her model. Rose's life of penance and prayer (critique of the corruption and exploitation of the Americas by imperial Spain) is symbolized by the cross she holds.
The Windows
French Carmelite nuns designed windows
Commissioned by Fr. Sorin, the windows were designed by the Carmelite nuns at Le Mans, France. Installed in the church in 1873–88, the 42 large windows contain 114 life-size pictures and 106 smaller ones.
Each nave and chancel window presents four life-size figures surmounting a scene in the life of that saint. The top of each window portrays a scene from the Old Testament.
Windows in the apsidal chapels depict Old and New Testament and historical scenes.
Our Lady
King Louis XIII of France is shown by the cardinal and some Augustinian friars in his presence of the Augustinians, a plan of a Gothic church, Notre Dame des Victoires, perhaps the second most famous church in Paris dedicated to Mary after the Cathedral of Notre Dame.
Sacred Heart
France's Devotion to the Sacred Heart represented by the Church Sacré Coeur of Monmartre.
Holy Spirit
Here the Holy Spirit recorded descends upon more than the 12 apostles, and Mary is at the center of the event, recorded in the Acts of the Apostles.
Above her is the Holy Spirit as a dove; further above are God the Father with the globe symbolizing the creation of the world, and the Son with the cross of human redemption.
Saint Margaret
In 1671 Margaret Mary Alacoque, the daughter of a royal notary, entered a monastery of Visitation nuns at Paray-le-Monial in Burgundy, France. After initial years of asceticism, serious illness, and the development of a desire for mystical prayer, she began to have visions of Jesus. Jesus revealed to her his human and divine love through the image of a heart resting on a throne of flames and surrounded by a crown of thorns.
Saint Helena
Helena, mother of Constantine, holds the cross on which Jesus was executed. Below she tests the validity of the newly found relics of the crucifixion of Jesus by witnessing their curing powers. The bishop, whose halo marks him, too, as a saint, is Silvester, who was pope during the lives of Constantine and Helena.
Vestibule of Memorial Entrance
Helmet of a former ND President is used as a light shade
The ceiling of the vestibule inside the War Memorial entrance contains the coats of arms of American divisions that fought in WWI.
Hanging from the ceiling and serving as a light shade is the "doughboy" helmet of Rev. Charles O'Donnell, 12th President of Notre Dame, who served as a chaplain in WWI.