Exploring the world's biggest church

In the heart of Yamoussoukro — the 'forgotten' capital of Ivory Coast — stands a church taller than St Peter’s in Rome. La Basilique Notre-Dame de la Paix (the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace) is the largest Christian basilica in the world. Its construction in 1986–89 was planned by the country's 'founding father' and first president, Felix Houphouet-Boigny, and became his legacy.

Inside the basilica is standing room for 11,000 people. 7,000 visitors can attend mass seated. The building itself can hold 18,000 worshippers. But there is room for even more people outside: the square around the building can accommodate 30,000 and up to 150,000 more can stand along the esplanade in front of the church. This makes it the world's biggest basilica.

The basilica emulates the famous St Peter's Basilica in form and size. The dome is slightly lower but its oversized cross reaches up to 158 meters. The building is 191 meters long and 150 meters wide. Designed by Lebanese architect Pierre Fakhoury, the interior surface area of the basilica measures over 8,000 square meters. Over 400,000 trees, hedges and shrubs were planted on the huge site.

The massive stained glass windows of the basilica have a total area of 7400 square meters. Around 6,000 shades of stained glass have been used to illustrate different scenes of the Old and New Testament, including the creation, Jesus’ birth and a window depicting Ivory Coast's first president Felix Houphouet-Boigny kneeling in front of Jesus, his name carved into the glass.

It is not possible to get married or hold funerals in this huge church. And with less than one-third of the nation’s population identifying themselves as Christian, attendance at the basilica’s services are low – usually just a few hundred. But those who do come get to enjoy the Italian-built air-conditioning system, described as an "oasis of freshness."

The Basilica was a gift to the Vatican by President Houphouet-Boigny. He wanted a church like St. Peter's — only bigger. Pope John Paul II was skeptical but agreed under two conditions: Firstly, the dome must not be higher than that of St. Peter's, secondly, a hospital must be build directly next to the church. The hospital was planned as requested, but not opened until 2015.

Controversy surrounded the financing of the basilica. Houphouet-Boigny is said to have spent $300 million (€263 million), while concealing the fact that he mainly used taxpayers' money. The cost of the construction also doubled the country’s debt in the midst of an economic crisis. Maintenance today costs around $1.5 million annually, paid for by a foundation set up by the former president.

All 18,000 seats and standing places inside the basilica are said to have been completely occupied only once: on the day of the consecration in 1990. The pope has not visited since, perhaps because of the contrast of the multi-million dollar project with the poverty that surrounds it — more than 40 percent of the country's 23 million inhabitants live below the poverty line.

Today, the basilica is located is a near-deserted town full of empty six-lane highways which lead nowhere. In 1983, Houphouet-Boigny named Yamoussoukro Ivory Coast's new capital. He commissioned grand monuments and buildings, including the five-star Hotel President. But none of the embassies or ministries ever relocated from Abidjan, so Yamoussoukro soon became an empty capital.