Tour Facts

Get a taste of what you’ll see on campus. Enjoy one of Notre Dame’s top-visited places—online. As you tour, note

Timeline: A short history of Basilica-related events

  • 1830 Father Badin builds the original Log Chapel.
  • 1852 The carillon was originally installed in a wooden tower.
  • 1858 Chapel burned to the ground. However, its site remained a hallowed spot on the campus.
  • 1867 The bell was sent to Notre Dame from France.
  • 1874 Painter Luigi Gregori came to Notre Dame.
  • 1875 Original organ was purchased.
  • 1886 The Lady Chapel was constructed.
  • 1888 50th anniversary of Fr. Sorin's ordination.
  • 1889 The Blessed Virgin statue above the altar was a gift imported from France.
  • 1893 The 12th and 13th stations of the Cross were displayed at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
  • 1896 Alumnus Rev. Thomas Carroll’s gift to ND made construction of the Grotto possible.
  • 1906 Father Badin's Log Chapel was reconstructed.
  • 1978 A new Holtkamp organ in the Basilica was installed.

Points of interest

  • The Basilica has North America's oldest carillon.
  • Log cabin’s timbers were hand-hewn by an ex-slave from Kentucky.
  • Guadalupe Chapel contains a large crucifix Emperor Napoleon III gave to Father Sorin.
  • A light shade in the Basilica entranceway is the "doughboy" helmet of Rev. Charles O'Donnell CSC, 12th President of Notre Dame.
  • The Reliquary Chapel contains relics of the saints, the Apostles, the manger at Bethlehem, pieces of the veil and belt of the Blessed Virgin, and the True Cross.
  • Rev. William Corby CSC, built the present-day Grotto.
  • The Grotto is a one-seventh replica of the famed French shrine where the Blessed Virgin appeared to Saint Bernadette.
  • The baroque altar in the Lady Chapel is perhaps one of only nine altars in the world designed by Bernini.

People of interest

  • Notre Dame's Office of Campus Ministry directs the liturgies and ministries of the Basilica.
  • Holy Cross priests, brothers and sisters, and lay men and women assist at the Basilica.
  • The campus has more than 40 additional chapels in residence halls and various religious houses.

Dimensions of the Basilica

  • The present Basilica, recently renovated, was built in the form of a Latin cross.
  • It is 275 feet long and 114 feet wide, with a chancel and seven apsidal chapels.
  • The interior ceiling is 60 feet high and the roof, 83 feet.
  • The distance to the top of the cross on top of the bell tower is 230 feet, the highest point on campus.
  • The tower itself is 218 feet tall.
  • To the right of Sacred Heart is the famous golden-domed Main Building of the University of Notre Dame.