Pope Leo XIV will celebrate mass at Barcelona's Sagrada Família on Wednesday and bless its final tower, marking the completion of Antoni Gaudí's masterpiece and making it the tallest church in the world. The pontiff arrived in Spain at the weekend for a week-long visit focused on immigration and politics.
Pope Leo's tour from 6 to 12 June includes stops in Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands. On his agenda is a mass at Barcelona's famed Sagrada Familia Basilica, a speech to the Spanish parliament and a visit to migrant centres in the Canary Islands.
The evening mass on Wednesday will mark the 100th anniversary of the death of Catalan architect Gaudi – once called "God's architect" for his work on the Sagrada Familia.
Pope Leo will bless the basilica's Jesus Christ tower, the soaring central piece which was completed in February.
The tower brought the basilica to its maximum height of 172.5 metres, making it the world's tallest church.
Full completion of the Sagrada Familia is expected in around a decade.
'Something of a miracle'
The Vatican last year declared Gaudi "venerable" – a move toward sainthood.
"The most obvious miracle, to me, is that he created a work that everyone wants to see," said Gijs van Hensbergen, author of a biography of Gaudi.
"Atheists, Buddhists and people from all over the world come to Barcelona to see this building, which is itself something of a miracle."
Last year, nearly 5 million people visited the Sagrada Familia – known for its soaring towers and symbolism-rich modernist architecture – making it Spain's most visited paid monument.
Other Gaudi landmarks, including the brightly coloured Casa Batllo in the centre of Barcelona, also continue to attract large crowds.
'Man of god'
Born in 1852 into a devout Catholic family, Gaudi quickly rose to become one of Barcelona's most prominent architects.
Leading members of the city's bourgeoisie and business community entrusted major projects to the young architect, known for his strong temperament and his deep appreciation of nature.
Gaudi's life changed after a series of deaths among close relatives, which led him to undertake an extreme fast in 1894. This marked the beginning of a new phase defined by a deep religious faith.
"It was really at that moment that he began to place himself after God," said Armand Puig Tarrech, a priest and theologian who helped prepare a 1,700-page dossier submitted to the Vatican seeking Gaudi's beatification, the next step on the path to sainthood.
Before, Gaudi had "remained internally attached to very human things such as vanity or ambition," he added.
After this formative existential crisis, Gaudi adopted an austere, almost mystical lifestyle, leading some of his most fervent admirers to view him as a potential saint.
"If you look at his life, you see a man of God," said Jose Manuel Almuzara, one of the co-founders in 1992 of the Association for the Beatification of Antoni Gaudi.
Before Gaudi can be beatified, a miracle attributed to his intercession must be verified.
The association has collected testimonies of favours believed to have been granted by his intercession, and the Vatican's medical commission is currently studying a possible miracle.
Gaudi died on 10 June, 1926, at age 73, days after he was hit by a tram in Barcelona while on his way to pray at a church.
(with AFP)
