BASILICA OF SAINT THERESA OF LISIEUX
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Basilica of Sainte-Thérèse de Lisieux, with a dome rising to a height of almost 100 m and a crypt containing a shrine.
An architectural gem, the hillside Basilica of Lisieux is one of the world's most important Catholic pilgrimage sites. Following Thérèse's canonization in 1925, Pope Pius XI ordered the construction of a basilica in her honor in 1929. 400 workers constructed the reinforced concrete and Vire granite edifice, which was completed in 1937. The basilica covers an area of 4,500 m², can accommodate up to 3,000 pilgrims, and its dome rises to a height of almost 100 metres. The figurative stained-glass windows and 8,000 m² of mosaics were created in the workshops of Pierre Gaudin. The basilica's Romanesque-Byzantine style is reminiscent of the Sacré-Coeur basilica in Montmartre, with its dome, pendentives and small domes. This is one of the largest cathedrals built in the 20thcentury !
The visit would be incomplete without an extended stop in the crypt, which is covered in marble and mosaics depicting the stages of St. Therese's life. The crypt also contains the reliquary of the Martin couple, St. Theresa's parents.
Also admirable is the campanile housing the drone and 51 chromatic bells of exceptional sound quality. They were made by Paccard in Annecy.
Masses are celebrated in the crypt from Monday to Saturday at 3.30pm and on Sundays at 5pm. Mass in Latin at 9 a.m. three Sundays a month. In the upper basilica, service Sundays at 10:30 am.
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