Regarding the post by Kanon Nakamura here about being able to stay at the Sacré-Cœur Basilica's dormitory for 15 euros by participating in the night prayer (adoration night), I used it recently with my daughter, so here's my report. It's a bit long.
The Sacré-Cœur Basilica has an attached guesthouse, right? Private rooms allow multiple nights, but for night prayer participation, it's one night.
First, I emailed the hotel management contact listed on the homepage with the desired stay date, number of people, room type, and dinner preference. I initially hoped for Friday night, but weekends are often full, so they said Sunday had availability, and I made a reservation for Sunday. Then an Invoice (bill) was sent, and I was told to pay in advance, so I transferred via Wise (I think somewhere it said on-site payment is possible, but I don't remember where? Anyway, I have a Wise account, so I could transfer with low fees). After payment, a confirmation email with a reference number was sent, and the reservation was successfully completed.
On the day, for the dormitory, check-in is at 7 PM, which is late (private rooms from 4 PM), but if you arrive early, they let you leave your luggage. (Was it because it was Sunday? The roads up to the basilica were all vehicle-restricted, and thanks to the experienced Uber driver, we somehow found the way and got to the basilica entrance, but otherwise, you might have to carry luggage up the hill.) At reception, show the reservation confirmation email, and they put a security band on your wrist. The rooms are named after saints like Saint Paul, not numbers—I couldn't remember, but it's properly written on the wristband.
I imagined the dormitory as bunk beds, but they were regular singles, curtained off for privacy. There were shelves too, spacious enough to open and organize my suitcase. There were 8 beds in the room, but strangely, I didn't see any other guests face-to-face. I knew from the noises that others were staying, though. The shared bathroom is clean if you use it first at night.
15 euros includes breakfast, and for another 15 euros, you can add dinner. I tried adding it to see what it was like. You dine in the underground dining room with other guests. However, it's silent eating, so you must eat quietly (no photos). First, soup, wipe the plate clean with bread, then share the next course of ham and cheese hot sandwich and salad. There was wine and chocolate mousse dessert, but no post-meal drinks; I waited thinking everyone ends with dessert, but nothing came, so one person asked the kitchen, and it was over! We left the dining room giggling. Well, for pricey Paris, it's fair value, but if you're hungry at night, spending a few more euros at a Montmartre restaurant might be more satisfying. It was really a church meal experience.
By the way, the cheap stay is premised on cooperating to keep the night prayers going, so you must participate in prayer from 11 PM to 6 AM for one hour. I didn't know how to choose the time slot, so I asked reception, but they seemed busy. During dinner, a French madam who speaks English at our table was nearby, so I asked her. She said there's a whiteboard near the entrance divided by time slots, and you write your name in your preferred slot. To avoid interrupting the night prayer, it's best to choose times with no one or few people. Naturally, 11 PM or 6 AM already had several names; we signed up for 5 AM, which had only one name. I asked the madam, who lives in Paris, what time she was doing, and she said 11 PM—lol! She said if you're not Catholic, you don't have to force it, yes, we're ordinary Buddhists, but that would go against the purpose, so we decided to do it.
The madam told us how to access the church interior; she then used Confession (penance?). After viewing the church, we thought we'd sleep early and lounged in our beds, but around 10:30 PM, we learned there was an orientation for night prayer from 9 PM and night Mass from 10 PM. It was almost over, but wanting to experience the Mass atmosphere, we went back. It was nearly ending with believers receiving communion; we gratefully received it too, listened to everyone singing, and soon the Mass ended. Good we could participate a little.
The next day was our departure day, so I tried to sleep until prayer time, but the church's energy was too high, my eyes stayed wide open, and I barely slept... Dozed off a bit before 5 AM and participated in prayer. The large Christ mosaic on the ceiling was dimly lit. Somehow, not sure if awake or asleep, an hour passed. My daughter said she had a divine revelation.
Back to the room, slept with an empty stomach for an hour and a half, then went to the dining room for breakfast from 7:30 AM. Expected just bread, coffee, tea, but there was juice, jam, cocoa, etc.—more substantial than thought. Believers were at 7 AM Mass, so we could take what we wanted while it was empty. Good.
Checkout is early at 9:30 AM, but they held our luggage.
It was long, but I hope it's helpful for anyone planning a Paris trip.
Thank you for the valuable info, Kanon.
[Addendum] I learned receiving communion without being Catholic is against the rules, thank you for pointing it out. I'll be careful henceforth. For reference, according to Gemini:
Basically, only baptized Catholics can receive (Holy Communion).
This is because the host (Eucharist) is not mere bread but "the body of Christ itself," and receiving it expresses unity with the Church.
The rules for non-members (unbaptized or other denominations) attending Mass are as follows.
- You cannot receive the host
Anyone can attend Mass, but you cannot line up for communion and take the host in your mouth. - You can receive a blessing
During communion, line up with believers, and when it's your turn, cross your arms in an X in front of your chest (right hand on left shoulder, left on right) to signal "I'm not a member but request a blessing." In this case, the priest gives a blessing with the sign of the cross over your head instead of the host. - Even members may not receive in some cases
Even if baptized, refrain if:
In a state of mortal sin without confession (sacrament of reconciliation).
Not observing the Eucharistic fast (no food or drink except water and medicine for 1 hour before receiving).
I'll request a blessing from now on!
Cre: Yabuta Mayumi
