{"id":213387,"date":"2026-06-11T06:19:49","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T06:19:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/pope-leo-blesses-barcelonas-towering-architectural-masterpiece-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T06:19:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T06:19:49","slug":"pope-leo-blesses-barcelonas-towering-architectural-masterpiece-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/pope-leo-blesses-barcelonas-towering-architectural-masterpiece-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Leo blesses Barcelona\u2019s towering architectural masterpiece – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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BARCELONA, Spain \u2014 Pope Leo XIV<\/a> offered his formal blessing Wednesday to the highest spire of what is now the world\u2019s tallest church, holding Mass at the iconic Sagrada Fam\u00edlia<\/a> in Barcelona<\/a>.
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The event, the highlight of a weeklong trip to Spain for Leo, comes 144 years after construction on the unfinished modernist basilica began and 100 years since the death of its famous architect, Antoni Gaud\u00ed.
Standing 566 feet high and crowned with a five-story ceramic cross, the central Tower of Jesus Christ is the highest of 18 adorning the Sagrada Fam\u00edlia, a bucket-list item for most travelers to the city in Spain\u2019s northeastern Catalonia region.
Leo\u2019s visit commemorates the legacy of Gaud\u00ed, whose radical, modernist designs were mocked in his lifetime but have subsequently been celebrated. Gaud\u00ed took over the construction of Sagrada Fam\u00edlia in 1883, a year after the first cornerstone was laid during the pontificate of Leo\u2019s namesake, Pope Leo XIII.
\u201cWe are all the living stones of this edifice,\u201d Leo said from the altar of the basilica.
Spain\u2019s King Felipe VI and Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez were among thousands inside the Sagrada Fam\u00edlia on Wednesday as Leo lit a candle at Gaud\u00ed\u2019s grave and led the Mass.
His work was far from finished when Gaud\u00ed, a devout Catholic, was hit by a tram and killed in June 1926, at age 73, having devoted 43 years of his life to the basilica, which one century later is now finally inching toward completion.
Dubbed \u201cGod\u2019s architect\u201d for his devotion, he designed some of Spain\u2019s most famous religious sites and tourist attractions, and he was put on the path to sainthood when Leo\u2019s predecessor, Pope Francis, declared him \u201cvenerable\u201d in recognition of his \u201cheroic virtues\u201d last year.
There is \u201ca miracle that is currently being studied, and we hope he will be beatified this year,\u201d Jos\u00e9 Manuel Almuzara, the president of the Association for the Beatification of Antoni Gaud\u00ed, told NBC News.
The ceremony also marks the contribution of the generations of artisans whose work is at last fully visible as the final cranes and scaffolding are peeled from the basilica\u2019s exterior. Among those buoyed by Leo\u2019s visit were father and son ceramicists Toni and Guillem Cumella, who used thousands of intricate 3D ceramic tiles to adorn the imposing cross atop the tower.
Their painstakingly designed tiles ensure the cross reflects the sunlight at \u201cevery moment of the day,\u201d Guillem told NBC News. \u201cIt\u2019s like a jigsaw,\u201d he said.
He said Leo\u2019s visit was a \u201cmagical sensation\u201d and a \u201cvery special moment\u201d for their family, which has worked in ceramics for five generations.
The Mass featured musicians and choirs from around Catalonia, an autonomous region known for its distinct language, culture and independent identity, where there are vocal voices in favor of independence from Spain.
The event drew a massive crowd: Local authorities said there were 9,000 people in the basilica and 120,000 outside. And there was a true sense of spectacle as lights illuminated different parts of Sagrada Fam\u00edlia at one point during the ceremony and drones formed an image of Gaud\u00ed in the sky beside it.
Earlier Wednesday, not far from the soaring towers, Leo was in less grand surroundings as he addressed prisoners at one of Spain\u2019s largest penitentiaries. A person\u2019s past \u201cdoes not condemn \u200bthe future but rather offers the possibility of changing our decisions and choices,\u201d he told them.
Leo, the first American pope, has recently clashed with President Donald Trump<\/a> over the war in Iran<\/a> and immigration, issues he has highlighted on this tour of the predominantly Catholic nation.
On the first papal trip to Spain in 15 years, Leo has warned that escalating conflicts have pushed the world into a profound crisis.
On Monday, he became the first pope to address the Spanish Parliament, telling lawmakers that a lack of help for the world\u2019s migrants was challenging \u201cthe ethical foundation of the international order.\u201d
Leo, a citizen of Peru as well as the U.S., spoke in fluent Spanish at a vast outdoor Mass in Madrid on Sunday that organizers said 1.5 million people attended.
In Barcelona, he also made some comments in Catalan, the predominant language in the region.
On the final leg of his trip, he will visit the Canary Islands on Friday to meet with African migrants who made the dangerous journey to reach Spanish territory by boat. More than 3,000 people died attempting the journey last year, according to Caminando Fronteras, a Spanish humanitarian group.
Christianity is receding in Spain, which underwent a religious crisis in the late 20th century during its return to democracy. One in 5 people polled by Spain\u2019s opinion agency in 2024 called themselves practicing Catholics.
But the people of Barcelona may have little choice but to adhere to the pope\u2019s motto for the trip \u2014 \u201cAlzad la mirada,\u201d or \u201clift up your eyes\u201d \u2014 as they gaze up at the towering church that dominates the city\u2019s skyline.
The Rev. Joby Sebastian Kappipparambil said in an interview Tuesday that he thought the tower would elevate \u201ctheir response to the daily sufferings and struggles\u201d and that looking at the cross would bring salvation.
In the near future, they may also pray to a Saint Antoni Gaud\u00ed.
Claudio Lavanga is Rome-based foreign correspondent for NBC News.
Molly Hunter is a London-based correspondent for NBC News.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

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