Under the concrete towers of Barcelona’s famed Basilica of the Sagrada Família, running upward in parallel to the cranes that continue to shepherd their rise, Pope Leo XIV recalled the Christian significance of the architectural wonder that has become renowned worldwide.
“It is precisely faith that shapes the stones and gives meaning to the edifice we inhabit together,” the pope said Wednesday (June 10) under glowing red and yellow beams of light refracted through the basilica’s stained glass windows.
Leo closed his two-day stint in Barcelona June 10 by celebrating Mass at the Sagrada Família on the death centenary of Antoni Gaudí, the basilica’s architect, who precisely 100 years to the day was killed by a tram car in Barcelona and who today is on the path to being recognized as a saint in the Catholic Church.
Prior to celebrating Mass, Leo lit a candle before Gaudí’s tomb in the Sagrada Família crypt.
Outside, the basilica narrates in stone the story of the Gospels along its facades. Its construction began in 1882 and today it attracts almost 5 million visitors a year, converting it into the most recognizable icon of one of the world’s most-visited cities.
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With thanks to National Catholic Reporter and Justin McLellan, where this article originally appeared.
