Record #00350Architecture archive
Largest Christian Church by Total Area
The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire, was completed in 1989 and covers about 30,000 square metres. Guinness recognizes it as the world's largest church by area.
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Current Record
about30,000m²
Current record value
- Start date
- 1989
- Record status
- VerifiedView verification details ↗Report an issue
Overview
Archive NoteThe Basilica of Our Lady of Peace stands in Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire's political capital. Completed in 1989, its design draws on St Peter's Basilica in Rome, with a monumental dome and cross.
The Guinness figure of about 30,000 m² is treated here as church building area, not worshipper capacity, height or the land occupied by the broader complex, including surrounding grounds and roads. Those measures should not be conflated when ranking churches.
The basilica has roughly 7,000 fixed seats and a total height of about 158 metres. These are separate architectural characteristics and do not establish a record for seating capacity or height.
Record history
1 Milestones- about 30,000 m²Basilica of Our Lady of PeaceYamoussoukro, Côte d'IvoireCurrent Record
Sources
Evidence & ReferencesVerification basis and limitations
VerifiedThe record conclusion has sufficient verification support.
Basis: direct confirmation by an authority
Guinness World Records identifies the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire, as the largest church by area, at approximately 30,000 m². This claim does not extend to capacity, height or the total grounds of the surrounding complex.
- Verification assessment
- 2026-11-04
- Last editorial review
- 2026-11-04
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