Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro, Minor basilica in Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire.
The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace is a Catholic church in Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire, whose ribbed white dome rises 158 meters above a light tan colonnaded base. Its elliptical esplanade is framed by 128 Doric columns 21 meters high, and the interior holds 8,400 square meters of stained glass in 18,500 panels.
The building rose between 1985 and 1989 under President Félix Houphouët-Boigny, who wanted to honor his birthplace with the structure. Pope John Paul II consecrated it in September 1990, linking it formally to the Catholic hierarchy.
The 8,400 square metres of stained glass were handmade near Paris by France Vitrail International, assembled in 18,500 panels. One panel shows Félix Houphouët-Boigny kneeling beside Jesus at his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The pews are cut from iroko wood, and their red backrests, seen from above, form small crosses that temper reverberation.
The interior holds space for 7,000 seated and roughly 11,000 standing visitors, while outside a large plaza spreads around the building. Looking upward shows the dome up close, and walking the colonnade circuit can take several minutes.
Guinness World Records lists this building as the largest Christian church in the world by floor area. The designation came after comparing it to Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome, whose covered ground footprint proved smaller.
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