Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Grenoble, Roman-Byzantine minor basilica in Grenoble, France
The Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Grenoble is a Roman-Byzantine church with two square towers topped by small pyramids and crosses, a central round-arched window above a recessed entrance, and a shallow green-tiled roof. Its 60-metre length includes a 25-metre-high choir, and the interior holds 1,499 seats after the 2016 renovation.
The parish was founded in 1911 by Bishop Paul-Émile Henry for the station district. In 1918 Bishop Alexandre Caillot vowed to build a church; plans by curé Joseph Viallet were executed from 1922 by his successor Gustave Parisot. Consecrated unfinished in 1943, it became a minor basilica in 1952; work stopped in 1969, so the planned 75-metre campanile was never built. A renovation completed in 2016 raised seating to 1,499.
The parish was founded in 1911 to serve the station district, and the basilica keeps a choir and an orchestra for Sunday Masses and major feasts. The Grenoble Gospel Institute, founded in 1993, gave a concert here on 6 and 7 October 2023 for the building's 30th anniversary. A children's choir took part in 2018 in a two-CD recording of sacred songs by Michel Penhard.
The main entrance faces the SNCF station at 4 rue Émile-Gueymard; the historic entrance is on place du Doyen-Gosse. The nave holds 1,499 seated places after the 2013–2016 renovation, and the crypt behind the choir holds the tombs of the three founders. The diocesan space next door, with its 122-seat auditorium, hosts exhibitions and concerts.
The planned 75-metre campanile was never built: work stopped in 1969, leaving the basilica unfinished. The 24 monumental windows by Arcabas, each 6.50 m high and 2 m wide, were made by the nearby Atelier Berthier-Bessac; the last six were installed in October 2019, after the artist's death in August 2018.
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