Bigger Than St Peter’s, Mostly Empty: The Cost of Ivory Coast’s Basilica at Yamoussoukro

• The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Yamoussoukro was built between 1985 and 1990
• Its dome is 158 metres high, taller than the Vatican’s
• President Félix Houphouët-Boigny personally paid most of the cost
• It seats more than 7,000 but draws only a few hundred worshippers

The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast, cost between 1,000 and 1,500 million French francs to build, La Brújula Verde reported on September 26, 2024, in a feature by Jorge Álvarez.

The basilica measures 195 metres by 150 metres and covers 30,000 square metres. Its dome is 158 metres high, compared with 136.57 metres at the Vatican, and 90 metres in diameter. It seats more than 7,000 people and can hold 18,000 with additional spaces. President Félix Houphouët-Boigny personally covered most of the cost. The foundation stone was laid in 1985, and it was inaugurated in 1990.

Pope John Paul II agreed to attend the inauguration on condition that a university and a hospital be built. The hospital was not completed until about 2015. Today the basilica draws only a few hundred worshippers, in part because the Cathedral of St Augustine is three kilometres away.

The basilica is one of the largest church buildings in the world, yet it draws only a small congregation.

Jamaican congregations planning new sanctuaries can take a lesson from Yamoussoukro. A building should be sized for the congregation it serves and the upkeep it can afford, not for prestige. Large buildings bring large maintenance, insurance and utility bills. A modest, well-used building with room to grow is usually a better investment than a monument.