The basilica was inaugurated in 1872, after fourteen years of construction. It was founded by Charles Lavigerie.[1] Its architect, Jean Eugène Fromageau, who had been appointed the chief architect for ecclesiastical buildings in French Algeria in 1859, employed a Neo-Byzantine style.[2] Its floor plan is unusual as the choir is situated on the southeast instead of the usual east side of the building.[who?]

Notre Dame d'Afrique is located on the north side of Algiers, on a 124 m (407 ft) cliff overlooking the Bay of Algiers. It formerly could be reached from the city centre by a cable car. The basilica can be considered to be the counter-piece to the church of Notre-Dame de la Garde on the other side of the Mediterranean, in Marseille