Sacré-Cœur means Sacred-Heart in English and is a reference to the heart of Jesus.
A group of influential people wanted to build the basilica and had two good reasons to do so. Firstly, a National Vow was made to build a church if Paris escaped untouched from the war with the Prussians army in 1870-1871. Secondly, the defeat of the French army in 1871 was interpreted as a moral condemnation of the sins of Paris.
Authorized by the National Assembly in 1873, the project was to build an imposing Christian church visible from all over Paris.