
The Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Sacre Coeur) is located on a hilltop in Paris called the Butte de Montmarte. This hilltop is the highest natural feature within the city -- 423 feet above sea level. Montmarte is also the name of one of the districts (geographical locations) of Paris and is famous as being the home of many artists. St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order, took his vows on this hill in 1534 when he and a few other men vowed themselves to perpetual chastity and poverty, and to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Sacre Coeur was begun in 1873 and completed in 1910, and is notable for being the site of perpetual Eucharistic adoration for many decades. In terms of architectural style, it is a combination of Romanesque and Byzantine with an oriental dome. Its architect died in 1894, before the church was completed. Worth seeing inside are the golden mosaics for which it is also famous.
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