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Key figures

Origin and history

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Bourg-en-Bresse has its origin in a local devotion to the Sacred Heart, initiated by Sister Mary of the Sacred Heart Bernaud (1825-1903), a religious of the Visitation. A guard of honour, organized at the Visitation Monastery, prayed with restorative intentions under the aegis of the Archconferrery of the Sacred Heart. This spiritual movement inspired Bishop Labeuche, Bishop of Belley (1906-1910), to build a parish church in the new neighbourhood of Bel-Air, thus fulfilling the vow of his predecessor, Bishop Soubiranne.

The construction began in 1911 according to the plans of architects Claude Royer and Franchet, combining neo-Roman and neo-Byzantine styles. A temporary chapel, opened in 1883 and later integrated into the north wing, served as a place of worship until the building was completed. The choir, a priority, was decorated between 1939 and 1942 by the Mauméjean workshops, with remarkable mosaics and stained glass. The church was blessed in 1942 under the occupation by Bishop Maisonobe, then solemnly consecrated in 1948 by Bishop Dubourg, in the presence of the bishops of the province of Besançon.

The building, 57 metres long and 24 wide, is distinguished by its rose of 5 meters in diameter and its mosaïque tympanum representing Christ in the Sacred Heart. The 50-metre reinforced concrete arrows were only added in 1952-1953 thanks to a bequest. Inside, the high altar in white marble (1825), originally from the major seminary of Belley, is surrounded by works such as a Crucifixion by Jean Scohy and a fresco by Luc Barbier and François Croizat. Today, the parish is entrusted to the Oblates of Saint Vincent de Paul.

The basilica embodies both a devotional heritage linked to Marguerite-Marie Alacoque, a major figure in the cult of the Sacred Heart, and an architectural testimony of the 19th and 20th centuries. Its status as basilica, which is being validated by the Dicastery of Rome (2026), would underline its spiritual and heritage importance for the city of Bourg-en-Bresse and the diocese of Belley-Ars.

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