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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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time
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070389
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07038900.046
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1990-09-22
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RELIGION, Page 38The Basilica in the BushThe biggest church in Christendom arises in the Ivory Coast
Seen from miles away, it looks like a giant pearl-gray
dirigible hovering over the African bush. Up close, its true shape
emerges: a sandy-beige concrete behemoth topped by a gargantuan
dome and a copper cross that gleams in the relentless sun. Equally
remarkable, the great basilica is built in post-Renaissance style
and has two long arms formed by 128 massive Doric columns that
reach out from the porch to envelop a 7.4-acre plaza paved with
granite and marble. Has St. Peter's Basilica been magically
transported from Rome to the heart of Africa? No, this is the
Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Yamoussoukro, the administrative
capital of the Ivory Coast.
The basilica's dome, which reaches 525 ft. above the ground,
makes it the tallest church in all Christendom -- about 100 ft.
higher than St. Peter's, its inspiration -- but Our Lady of Peace
will accommodate 2,000 fewer worshipers than St. Peter's. The
Yamoussoukro basilica is the dazzling centerpiece of a building
boom launched by President Felix Houphouet-Boigny to carve a modern
capital out of the rain forest, 135 miles from the coast and the
urban center of Abidjan, the former capital.
Almost as astonishing as the basilica's size is the speed with
which it went up: it took only three years, compared with more than
100 years for St. Peter's. The President, now 83, wanted the
project to be completed before he died, so 1,500 well-organized
workmen toiled around the clock to meet his expectations. The crew
is currently putting on the final touches in preparation for a
completion ceremony due to take place in September.
Houphouet-Boigny, who converted to Roman Catholicism as an
orphaned teenager, views his basilica as a pilgrimage center for
Africa's 73 million Catholics and a bulwark against Islam and
animism in his own country, which counts about 1 million Christians
in a population of 10 million. As many as 300,000 pilgrims would
easily fit into the plaza.
Apart from the problematic location, the basilica's distinctly
non-African design has raised questions: all the figures depicted
in the stained-glass windows are white, except for a lone black
pilgrim who bears a remarkable resemblance to Houphouet-Boigny.
Especially troublesome is the cost of the construction: the price
tag may exceed $200 million.
Despite the overall similarity, the Yamoussoukro structure is
not really an enlarged replica of St. Peter's. Designed by
architect Pierre Fakhoury, 45, an Ivory Coaster of Lebanese
ancestry, the basilica has no paintings, statues, wooden paneling,
tapestries or carvings. Instead, the building, buttressed by 60
interior columns, serves as a gallery for 36 immense, hand-blown
stained-glass windows. In a brilliant conception, hundreds of
colors splash across the nave in patterns that change throughout
the day. "It is the church of light," says a mason at the site,
"the light of God." The basilica, which is entered from a huge
porch overhung with stained glass, is air-conditioned.
Like St. Peter's, which the Protestants of 16th century Europe
scorned as a scandalous extravagance, Our Lady of Peace is being
maligned as an unseemly expense in a country with an annual per
capita income of $650. Demands a devout Ivory Coaster: "Why build
a church for God while there are so many unemployed and near
starving?" The regime counters that the church was paid for
entirely by private funds provided by Houphouet-Boigny and his
sister and was built on land owned by the President.
Houphouet-Boigny considers the basilica a gift not only to
Africa but also to the Vatican. Though he discussed the project in
an audience with Pope John Paul II last April, the Pontiff will not
come to dedicate the church in September. (If he ever does visit,
John Paul will stay in a huge residence built especially for him,
complete with swimming pool, 20 rooms and a 40-room mansion for his
entourage.)
Ivory Coast officials want the Vatican to provide the $1.5
million in estimated annual maintenance costs. Rome, however, was
not consulted on the undertaking and thus feels no financial
responsibility, though it may help supervise an international fund
for the extraordinary edifice. Confides a Vatican official: "The
size and expense of the building in such a poor country make it a
delicate matter. But it is a project close to the President's
heart, and he sees it as an experience of faith. We want to respect
that."
Although bishops and priests in the Ivory Coast are reluctant
to say much about the grandiose building, some parishioners
fervently defend it. One man insists it is a gift to God "in thanks
for all the years of peace that we have enjoyed." Says a young
religious instructor: "We give it to the entire Christian world
with the little that we have, despite our poverty. This is the way
Ivorians think." Under the shadow of the colossal dome, Antoine
Bakou, 29, hoes his yam patch and reflects quietly, "It is a good
thing for us to have the basilica because we Africans walk in the
divine presence."