Cathédrale du Sacré-Cœur d'Alger (''Sacred Heart Cathedral of Algiers'') is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

located in

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

. Completed in 1956, it became the new

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

in the capital after the Cathedral of Saint Philip of Algiers reconverted into a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Ketchaoua Mosque The Ketchaoua Mosque (), also known as Djamaa Ketchaoua, is a mosque in the city of Algiers, the capital of Algeria. It was built during Ottoman period in the 17th century and is located at the foot of the Casbah of Algiers, a UNESCO World Herit ...

. The Cathédrale du Sacré-Cœur d'Alger is the cathedral church of the Archdiocese of Algiers. Construction of the church began after a wish of Bishop Leynaud in 1944. It was elevated to a cathedral in December 1962 and consecrated in 1963. The designers of the building,

Paul Herbé Paul Charles Auguste Herbé (15 October 1903 - 25 August 1963) was a French architect. Early years Paul Charles Augustus Herbé was born in Reims on 15 October 1903, son of Edmond Herbé and brother of Jacques Herbé, also architects. He studi ...

and

Jean Le Couteur John Le Couteur (10 June 1916 – 30 May 2010) was a notable French architect, a long-time associate of Paul Herbé. Early years Le Couteur was born in Brest, Brittany, on 10 June 1916, the son of a naval doctor. He had a talent for drawing an ...

, along with engineer René Sarger, were inspired by the

Gospel of John The Gospel of John () is the fourth of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "Book of Signs, signs" culminating in the raising of Lazarus (foreshadowing the ...

. Its

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

measures long and wide. The church is noted for its central tower. At the entrance to the nave there are small organs offered by the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

Boufarik Boufarik is a town in Blida Province, Algeria, approximately 30 km from Algiers. In 2008, its population was 57,162.popul ...

opposite which is a

mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

. The mural dates to 324, from the first

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

basilica of ''

Castellum Tingitanum Chlef () is the capital of Chlef Province, Algeria. Located in the north of Algeria, west of the capital, Algiers, it was founded in 1843, as Orléansville, on the ruins of Roman ''Castellum Tingitanum''. In 1962, it was renamed al-Asnam, but aft ...

'' (

Chlef Chlef () is the capital of Chlef Province, Algeria. Located in the north of Algeria, west of the capital, Algiers, it was founded in 1843, as Orléansville, on the ruins of Roman ''Castellum Tingitanum''. In 1962, it was renamed al-Asnam, but ...

). The altar is made of

Carrara marble Carrara marble, or Luna marble (''marmor lunense'') to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara ...

, and houses the relics of numerous African saints.

References

External links

Gallery of photographs

Roman Catholic churches completed in 1956 Tourist attractions in Algiers Roman Catholic cathedrals in Algeria 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Algeria {{Algeria-RC-church-stub

See also

References

External links