Church Record Holder

The following is a list of churches for which claims to "largeness" are commonly made, and the
nature of those claims. This is not a definitive list of claims, and presence in this table does not
mean that the claims are verifiable.
Name Completion City Country Claims
St. Peter's
Basilica
1506-1626 Vatican City Vatican City The largest church in the world;
tallest church dome in the world
(excluding the cross on top); tallest
Renaissance structure in the world
Basilica of
Our Lady of
Peace
1989 Yamoussoukro Ivory Coast The largest church in the world;
the tallest church dome in the
world (although the dome is
alleged to be lower than that of St
Peter's if the cross is ignored); the
tallest Roman Catholic church in
the world; and the tallest church in
Africa.
The claims made for its size
appear to include the entire built
structure, which includes a huge
open forecourt imitating that at St
Peter's, a rectory and papal villa.
The measurements of area at St
Peter's do not include its vast
forecourt, or subsidiary buildings,
only the actual church. This
accounts for the great discrepancy
in the number of people the two
buildings will hold. The Guiness
Book of World Records lists
Yamoussoukro as the largest
church in the world, but it is not
certain whether the above was
taken into account or not when
judging this.
Basilica of the
National
Shrine of Our
Lady of
Aparecida
1955-1980 Aparecida Brazil Second largest church in the
world; largest church in the
Americas
Cathedral of
Saint John the
1892 New York United
States
Largest non-Roman Catholic
church in the world, largest
Divine, New
York
cathedral (of any denomination) in
the world, and the largest Gothic
Revival church in the world.
Cathedral of
Seville
1196 Seville Spain Largest Catholic cathedral in the
world (St Peter's being a basilica,
not a cathedral); the largest
medieval church in the world; the
largest Gothic church in the world.
Liverpool
Cathedral
1978 Liverpool United
Kingdom
Largest non-Roman Catholic
cathedral in Europe; largest non-
Roman Catholic church in Europe
Church of the
Most Holy
Trinity
2007 Ftima Portugal Fourth largest church in the world
La Luz del
Mundo
Temple
1992- Guadalajara Mexico Largest non-catholic church in
Latin America
Milan
Cathedral
1386-1858 Milan Italy Second largest church in Italy;
second largest Gothic church in
the world
Basilica of the
Sacred Heart
1970 Koekelberg(
Brussels)
Belgium Sixth largest church in the world
San Petronio 1390-1658 Bologna Italy Fifth largest church in the world
Sanctuary of
Our Lady of
Liche
1994-2004 Liche Stary Poland
Poland's largest church; the
seventh largest in church in
Europe; the eleventh largest
church in the world.
Washington
National
Cathedral
1990 Washington,
DC
United
States
Second largest Cathedral in the
United States; Sixth largest
cathedral in the world
Basilica of the
National
Shrine of the
Immaculate
Conception
1919-1961 Washington
D.C.
United
States
Largest Catholic church in the US;
often claimed to be largest
Catholic church in the Americas.
Disputed with Basilica of the
National Shrine of Our Lady of
Aparecida