Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paray-le-Monial

The Sacred Heart became a popular worldwide devotion in large part due to the visions of Margaret Mary Alacoque, who lived and died at the monastery next to the basilica.

[2] The church was built in the 12th century by Hugues de Semur, the most important of the Abbots of Cluny, on the site of a 10th-century monastery founded by count Lambert of Chalon.

The edifice has an overall length of 63.5 meters, including the vestibule and the eastern chapel, and a width of 22.35 m. The nave (which is 22 m tall) and the aisles are covered by ogival barrel vaults, with, internally, the use of different height levels which was typical of Romanesque architecture.

The capitals of the columns are generally decorated with vegetable motifs, although some feature depictions of animals or other figures.

The few decorations include the portal of the transept's left arm, with flower and geometrical motifs.