Adam Furman: October 1989 Archives

 

 

The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro, also known as Basilique de Notre Dame de la Paix de Yamoussoukro, is a Roman Catholic church in Yamoussoukro, the administrative capital of Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). Often ranked as the largest Christian church in the world, the basilica was constructed between 1985 and 1989 at a cost of $300 million, and was intentionally modeled after the Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican City. The cornerstone was laid on August 10, 1985, and it was consecrated on September 10, 1990, by Pope John Paul II.

 

Contrary to popular belief, this particular basilica is not a cathedral. The nearby Cathedral of Saint Augustine is the principal place of worship and seat of the bishop of the Diocese of Yamoussoukro.

Guinness World Records lists it as the largest church in the world, having surpassed the previous recordholder, St. Peter's Basilica, upon completion. Our Lady of Peace has a greater surface, and a higher dome, than St. Peter's[1]. However, it also includes a refectory and a villa, which are not strictly part of the church, and it can accommodate 18,000 worshippers, compared to 60,000 for St. Peter's

 

While designed after the Vatican Basilica, architect Pierre Fakhoury constructed the dome to be slightly lower than the Basilica of Saint Peter but is ornamented with a larger cross on top. The finished height is 158 meters (518 feet). The basilica is constructed with marble imported from Italy and is furnished with 7,000 square meters of contemporary stained glass from France. Columns are plentiful throughout the basilica but are not uniform in style. There is enough space to seat 7,000 people in the nave with standing room for an additional 11,000 people. Apart from the basilica are two identical buildings each serving as rectory and private papal villa, respectively. The villa is reserved for papal visits, of which only one has occurred.

The basilica was met with some controversy globally when construction began. The lavishly-built basilica sits in the middle of the African bush in an impoverished city where only a minority of homes have running water and adequate sanitation. The cost of the basilica doubled the national debt of Côte d'Ivoire, but many of the country's Roman Catholics are proud of the church.

Côte d'Ivoire President Félix Houphouët-Boigny chose his birthplace of Yamoussoukro to be the future site of the new capital city of his country in 1983. As part of the plan of the city, the president wanted to memorialize himself with the construction of what he called the greatest church in the world. As construction was nearly completed, the president commissioned a stained glass window of his image to be placed beside a gallery of stained glass of Jesus and the apostles.

Pope John Paul II insisted as a condition of his attendance of the consecration that a hospital be constructed nearby. The Pope laid the founding stone for the hospital. The stone can be seen where he laid it as a lonely symbol in the middle of a nearby field, as the hospital has not been built.