The ten church buildings with the largest interior floor area, led by St. Peter's Basilica (25,616 m²) and Brazil's Aparecida cathedral (25,000 m²).
St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City is the largest church in the world by interior area, at 25,616 m². The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady Aparecida in Brazil is second at 25,000 m² and the Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń in Poland third at 23,000 m². The ranking uses interior floor area from Wikipedia's List of largest church buildings, checked October 2026.
Many churches claim to be "the largest" because they measure different things: interior floor area, exterior footprint, volume, length or capacity. This list uses one measure — interior floor area — and one source, Wikipedia's List of largest church buildings. On that basis St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City is the largest at 25,616 m², with Brazil's Basilica of Our Lady Aparecida (25,000 m²) and Poland's Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń (23,000 m²) close behind. The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast, often called the world's largest church, has a 30,000 m² exterior footprint that includes a rectory and a villa, but only 7,989 m² inside.
St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City has the largest interior of any church, at 25,616 m². Built from 1506 to 1626 to designs by Bramante, Michelangelo, Maderno and Bernini, it holds an estimated 60,000 people standing.
Brazil's national Marian shrine has 25,000 m² of interior floor space, only slightly less than St. Peter's, and is the largest cathedral in the world. It was built between 1955 and 1980.
Built between 1994 and 2004 in the village of Licheń Stary, Poland, this basilica has 23,000 m² of interior space.
Begun as a mosque in 785 and now the Catholic cathedral of the Diocese of Córdoba, it has 13,000 m² of interior space. The source includes it as a building substantially transformed into a church.
Milan Cathedral took almost 600 years to complete, from 1386 to 1965, and has 11,700 m² of interior floor area, the largest of any church in Italy.
Seville Cathedral, the largest Gothic cathedral, has at least 11,520 m² of public interior space; the figure excludes private cloisters and offices. It was built from 1401 to 1528 on the site of the city's former great mosque.
New York's Episcopal cathedral has 11,241 m² of interior space even though it is still unfinished; construction began in 1892.
Liverpool's Anglican cathedral, built from 1904 to 1978, has 9,687 m² of interior floor area and is the longest cathedral in the world.
Built at the Fátima sanctuary between 2004 and 2007, the Basilica of the Holy Trinity has 8,700 m² of interior space and a capacity of 9,000.
Founded in the fourth century and rebuilt between 1825 and 1929, St. Paul's is the second Roman basilica on this list. The source gives 8,515 m² of interior area but marks the figure as needing a citation.
| # | Name | city | country | built | denomination | capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. Peter's Basilica | Rome | Vatican City | 1506–1626 | Catholic | 60,000 standing / 20,000 seated |
| 2 | Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady Aparecida | Aparecida | Brazil | 1955–1980 | Catholic | 45,000 standing / 30,000 seated |
| 3 | Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń | Licheń Stary | Poland | 1994–2004 | Catholic | 7,000 |
| 4 | Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba | Córdoba | Spain | 785–1607 | Catholic | 40,000 standing |
| 5 | Milan Cathedral (Duomo di Milano) | Milan | Italy | 1386–1965 | Catholic | 40,000 |
| 6 | Seville Cathedral | Seville | Spain | 1401–1528 | Catholic | 80,000 standing / 20,000 seated |
| 7 | Cathedral of St. John the Divine | New York City | United States | 1892–present (unfinished) | Anglican (Episcopal) | 8,600 |
| 8 | Liverpool Cathedral | Liverpool | United Kingdom | 1904–1978 | Anglican (Church of England) | 3,500 |
| 9 | Basilica of the Holy Trinity | Fátima | Portugal | 2004–2007 | Catholic | 9,000 |
| 10 | Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls | Rome | Italy | 4th century; rebuilt 1825–1929 | Catholic | — |
Churches are ranked by interior floor area in square metres, measured to the internal face of the external walls, exactly as given in the interior-area column of Wikipedia's List of largest church buildings (checked October 2026). That list includes only buildings constructed as churches, plus buildings substantially transformed into churches (such as the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba), that are still standing. Exterior footprint, volume and capacity are not used for ranking. Church measurements are often reported inconsistently: the source flags several figures, including St. Paul Outside the Walls at No. 10, as needing a citation.
Only by exterior area. Its 30,000 m² figure covers the whole site, including a rectory and a villa. Its interior is 7,989 m², which is outside the top ten by interior floor area.
The source gives the Sagrada Família about 5,400 m² of interior area (a figure it flags as needing a citation), far below the top ten. The basilica is still unfinished.
Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, built as a church in 537 and now a mosque, is listed at 7,960 m² of interior area, well outside the top ten.
'Church' is the general term for a Christian place of worship. A cathedral is a church that is the seat of a bishop. A basilica is a church given special status by the Pope. Some churches on this list are cathedrals, some are basilicas and some are both; the ranking uses interior area only.
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