The inauguration and blessing of the tower will take place during a solemn Mass presided over by Pope Leo XIV as part of a series of events honouring Gaudí’s artistic and spiritual legacy.
Image: Vatican News / Facebook
On June 10 in Barcelona, Pope Leo will inaugurate the soaring central tower of the famed Sagrada Família basilica to mark the 100th anniversary of the death of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, who designed what is now the world’s tallest church.
The graphic shows a cutaway of the Cross of Jesus and highlights the parts of the Sagrada Família that have been completed and those still to be built.
Image: Graphic News
The inauguration and blessing of the tower will take place during a solemn Mass presided over by the pope as part of a series of events honouring Gaudí’s artistic and spiritual legacy. Pope Leo’s trip to Spain will also include visits to Madrid and the Canary Islands.
More than 140 years after construction began, the basilica reached its full height of 172.5 metres in February last year when the final piece of the central tower was put in place. At that point, the church surpassed the height of the spire of Ulm Minster to become the tallest church in the world.
Construction of the Sagrada Família began in 1882, but Gaudí never expected to see it completed. Only one tower had been finished at the time of his death in 1926 after he was struck by a tram in Barcelona.
Despite the symbolic importance of inaugurating the Tower of Jesus, work on the basilica is still expected to continue until around 2034, with further decorative and architectural elements yet to be completed.
Graphic News