This cathedral is hard to miss at the University of Notre Dame. The Basilica of the Scared Heart is the Roman Catholic Church on the university’s beautiful campus in South Bend, Indiana. The Basilica serves as the mother church of the Congregation of Holy Cross in the United States. The neo-gothic style church is breathtaking with 44 intricate stained glass windows and mural completed over a 17-year period by a Vatican painter, Luigi Gregori. With the basilica’s bell tower standing at 218 feet high, it is the tallest University chapel in our country. Ranked among the top most beautiful churches in the country and around the world, it is an unbelievable architectural sight. With the school being my parents’, grandparents’, aunt, and two uncles’ alma mater, this cathedral (and the campus itself) has played a prominent role in my life. Some of my most fond memories have been attending Midnight Mass at the cathedral on Christmas Days, which I will be doing again this year!