Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre

This guide to the Sacré-Cœur in Paris begins in 1870, when Prussian troops encircled the city and a Parisian philanthropist named Alexandre Legentil made a vow amid the wreckage of national defeat: if France survived, he would build a sanctuary on Montmartre's highest point. It follows the decades-long construction that followed, plus a detail about the stone itself that explains why the dome looks the way it does after rain. You'll also hear about a form of continuous prayer that began inside the unfinished building in 1885. Stand back far enough to take in the full dome as you listen.