Our Lady of Victories

Sanctuary of the Immaculate Heart · Paris (France)

In the heart of Paris, the Basilica of Notre- Dame des Victoires is a Marian sanctuary covered by tens of thousands of devotees, dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary since the 19th century.

Origin and history

The temple was founded by Louis XIII in 1629; its construction lasted for more than a century, and the porch was completed around 1737-1740. The dedication under the title "of the Victories" has been related to the victory over the Protestants of La Rochelle, an interpretation of subsequent synthesis that should be distinguished from the foundational documentation.

Closed during the Revolution, he was returned to veneration in 1810. The great turn came in 1836, when the parish was consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and became a famous pilgrimage center; in 1838 it received pontifical approval of the archicofradia linked to that devotion. Its walls are covered by more than 37,000 exvotes.