As completion of 144-year basilica nears, questions swirl over resemblance of church to architect\u2019s original plans
It has been a long wait but 144 years after work began, Pope Leo XIV has blessed the recently completed central tower of Antoni Gaud\u00ed\u2019s Sagrada Fam\u00edlia church in the presence of members of the Spanish royal family, the prime minister and hundreds of bishops.
With the completion of the Jesus Christ tower, the tallest of 18 in the temple, the basilica has reached its full height of 172.5 metres. It is now not only the world\u2019s tallest church but Barcelona\u2019s tallest building. It was consecrated in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI.
After a solemn Mass, the Pope, speaking in Spanish and Catalan, said that, more than a monument, \u201cthis basilica is a work in progress, which reminds us that the path that Christ has shown us is a journey that never ends\u201d. He added: \u201cWe can never believe is a Jesus that wants us to make war or murder innocents.\u201d
Before Wednesday\u2019s service, Leo lit a candle and prayed at the tomb of Gaud\u00ed in the basilica\u2019s crypt.
Ten hours before he was due to pass by, the faithful were already picking their spots along the pope\u2019s route.
Ram\u00f3n and Marisa from L\u2019Hospitalet de Llobregat, both draped in Vatican flags, were among those who had arrived early to drink in the atmosphere. \u201cWe\u2019re of the generation of John Paul II and Leo reminds us a lot of him,\u201d Marisa said. \u201cWe\u2019re very happy that he\u2019s come here to Barcelona.\u201d
Ram\u00f3n said the Sagrada Fam\u00edlia gives him goosebumps. \u201cGaud\u00ed deserves to be a saint just for building it,\u201d Marisa said. \u201cIt\u2019s a divine construction.\u201d
A few blocks away, Rosmira Pasadis from Venezuela said she\u2019d brought some fruit and water to get her through the long wait.
\u201cThis pope is very charismatic and he\u2019s got a gift for communicating, especially with the young,\u201d she said. \u201cHis visit is important for me not just because I\u2019m a Catholic but because we hope he will call for the release of political prisoners in Venezuela and for our freedom.\u201d
Security measures, which include the closure of several metro stations and streets, brought the city close to a standstill, while only invited guests can get anywhere near the Sagrada Fam\u00edlia itself.
However, souvenir shops nearby were doing steady business selling pope memorabilia alongside their usual collection of Gaudiana tat.
Police estimated 70,000 people would line the route along the pope\u2019s short journey, fewer than in Madrid and fewer still than the 650,000 who turned out for FC Barcelona\u2019s players\u2019 victory parade after they won the Spanish league in May.
Wednesday marks the centenary of the death of Gaud\u00ed, described by his biographer Gijs Van Hensbergen as \u201ca man with a medieval soul and an avant-garde mind\u201d.
Often known as God\u2019s architect, Gaud\u00ed dedicated the last 12 years of his life to work on the Sagrada Fam\u00edlia.
At a time when many in Barcelona were turning away from religion, Gaud\u00ed said he wanted to create a church for everyone, \u201ca bible in stone\u201d, hence the depiction of local people and scenes from everyday life among more conventional religious images.
According to the industrial historian James Douet, \u201cthe Sagrada Fam\u00edlia was conceived to bring Barcelona\u2019s disaffected industrial working classes back to Catholic beliefs, to turn them away from the anarchist violence and anti-clerical hostility that had become characteristic of the city, and in some way to expiate or atone for the sinfulness of its inhabitants\u201d.
Blessing the towers was the last stop in Leo\u2019s busy Barcelona schedule that has included an audience with the Catalan president, Salvador Illa, a visit to a high-security prison, saying the rosary at the monastery at Montserrat and a plea for Catalan unity delivered in Spanish and Catalan.
Although the Sagrada Fam\u00edlia has reached its full height, completion of the Glory facade of the main entrance is still a decade away, and then there\u2019s the construction of the contentious grand stairway \u2013 which would entail rehousing between 1,000 and 10,000 people, depending on which plan is implemented.
The dispute over whether what we see today has anything to do with what Gaud\u00ed intended is bound to rumble on. As long ago as 1965 a group of artists and architects, among them Le Corbusier, Ricardo Bofill and Joan Mir\u00f3, said work on the basilica should stop, citing \u201cthe mediocrity of the promoters who are using Gaud\u00ed to make their mark to the detriment of the original work\u201d.
However, Jordi Faul\u00ed, the architect charged with completing the work, says Gaud\u00ed understood that only a small part of the temple would be built in his lifetime and left detailed drawings and instructions that \u2013 although several were subsequently lost or destroyed \u2013 are enough to ensure that his successors can realise his vision.
The question of Gaud\u00ed\u2019s beatification remains. Last year Pope Francis authorised a decree declaring the architect \u201cvenerable\u201d, an early step on the road to being canonised by the Catholic church.
The Sagrada Fam\u00edlia is visited by about 5 million people a year, each paying upwards of \u20ac26 (\u00a322), making it good business for the Catholic church. If Gaud\u00ed is beatified it could become a place of pilgrimage as well as a tourist destination.
However, Mateu Hern\u00e1ndez, the head of Visit Barcelona, emphasised the city\u2019s secular status when he said it now had \u201ca global icon equal to the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal or the Pyramids\u201d.
In the century and a half since work began on the temple, Barcelona has continued to be a city more inclined to rebellion than prayer. Time will tell whether Pope Leo\u2019s visit will lead its rebellious citizens back towards the path of righteousness.<\/p>\n