Basilica of the National Vow

Architect Tarlier was inspired by the Bourges Cathedral. On July 10, 1892, the first stone was placed. Between 1892 and 1909, the Heart of Mary Cathedral was constructed. The basilica was blessed by Pope John Paul II in 1985, and it was consecrated and inaugurated on July 12, 1988.

The basilica remains technically unfinished. Local legend says that when the Basílica is completed, the end of the world will come.

This Roman Catholic church is located in the historic center of Quito, Ecuador, and is the largest Neo-Gothic basilica on the continent. With gorgeous, intricate details both inside and out, the basilica is technically unfinished.  The basilica arose from the idea, proposed by Father Julio Matovelle in 1883, of building a monument as a perpetual reminder of the consecration of Ecuador to the Sacred Heart.