The Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame will be closed from noon Tuesday (May 22) through Thursday (May 24) to remove three spires from the churchs bell tower. The daily 11:30 a.m. Mass will be moved to the Basilicas crypt during the project.
The work is being done as a precaution after strong winds last Tuesday caused a fourth spire to crash to the ground. No one was hurt in that incident.
There are no visible signs of distress to the remaining three spires, according to Notre Dames architect, Doug Marsh, but University officials decided to be proactively cautious and remove them. A cap will be placed over the bases of the spires to seal off water.
Marsh said all of the spires will be reinstalled after engineers redesign them. No time frame or cost estimates are available at this time.
The area on the south and east sides of the Basilica will be closed to pedestrians while workers on cranes remove the spires this week.
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