La Basilique du Sacré Coeur de Montmartre

The prayer life
At it consecration, in 1919, the church was declared a basilica. It is not a parish church but an independent sanctuary, a place of pilgrimage where the Sacred Heart of Christ is venerated.

The term " Heart of Christ " originates in the Bible itself, where the word Heart indicates the seat of the emotions, of thought and of the will. So the Heart connotes the whole person of Jesus Christ, truly God and truly man. All the life on earth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, shows God's love for mankind and, on the Cross, the Heart pierced by the lance expresses the infinite nature of that Love. Great theologians and philosophers such as St Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas and the medieval Rhineland mystic saints deepened this dimension of the Christian faith.

St Ignatius Loyola composed a hymn where the word " Heart " is replaced by the word " soul " and is invoked among the " wounds"

Soul of Christ, sanctify me ; Body of Christ, save me ;
Blood of Christ, exhilarate me ; water from the side of Christ, wash me ;
Passion of Christ, fortify me ; oh good Jesus, hear my prayer ;
In your wounds, hide me ;dont allow me to be separate from you.
From the enemy, defend me ;
At my death, summon me, make me come unto you
So that I may praise you with the Saints.
For ever and ever ,amen!

In this, he saw a means of sharing Christ's Passion and Resurrection in a very particular way.
From the 17th century on-wards, with Saint Marguerite-Marie, modern spirituals thinkers and the French School promoted the devotion to the Sacred Heart.

After 1885, the Holy Sacrament exposed to the adoration of pilgrims gave a particular style to the spiritual life of the basilica even before it was physically built. The pierced Heart of Christ is the revelation of the love of God, manifested for us in the celebration of the Eucharist and the adoration of the Holy Sacrament by day and night.

In 1899, Pope Leo XIII publishes the encyclical letter on the Sacred Heart and consecrates mankind to the Heart of Christ. To-day the spiritual life of the Basilica is still entirely focussed on celebrating the presence of Jesus Christ and the love of God. " He who thirsts, let him come to me and drink ".

The prayer of adoration prepares and prolongs the celebration of the Eucharist. Day and night parishioners and pilgrims take turns to adore in silence. This prayer is opened to all, baptized or not, candidates for baptism, non practising christians. It may be accompanied by a discussion with a priest or a nun, by a request for prayer, by lighting a candle (the sign of continuing prayer).

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