Basilica of Notre-Dame-d'Afrique

Algiers, Algeria

Open to visitors

The interior is normally open, possibly ticketed.

Strollie cannot guarantee access — always check before you travel.

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Perched above Algiers, the Basilica of Notre-Dame-d'Afrique is a Catholic minor basilica and pilgrimage church designed by architect Jean-Eugène Fromageau and completed in 1872. Built in the Byzantine Revival style, it became the spiritual center of modern Catholic devotion to Our Lady of Africa. Pope Pius IX elevated the shrine through two Pontifical decrees issued on 15 April 1876: the first authorized the canonical coronation of the venerated Marian image within, which was performed by the Archbishop of Carthage Charles Lavigerie on 30 April 1876, and the second granted the sanctuary basilica status based on its "immemorial custom." Pope Benedict XV later restricted such privileges in 1918 to papal edicts or buildings with documented ancient basilica designation.