Pope Leo XIV led a Solemn Mass and gave a ceremonial blessing this month in Barcelona to commemorate 100 years since the death of architect Antoni Gaudí.
The Pope’s visit also recognized the installation of a new cross atop Sagrada Família’s central tower, the Tower of Jesus Christ. The completion of the cross denotes the penultimate end of exterior work to Sagrada Família, a sacred site 144 years in the making.
In his homily Pope Leo XIV spoke against war, and described Sagrada Família as a paragon of Catholicism’s highest ideals. He also visited the tomb of Gaudí, in the church’s crypt.
With exterior work on the church nearly complete, interior work will take place through 2028. There will also be construction work on the “Glory Facade,” or the main entrance. There, a monumental staircase that connects the basilica to the street will be built.
After the interior work and the new staircase are finished, then Sagrada Família will be considered complete. Jordi Faulí, a local designer, is the chief architect.
Mauricio Cortés, a Mexican architect, designed the cross and steered its installation which took several months and entailed immense amounts of complexity.
“It culminates more than a decade of work,” Cortes said in an interview with CBS News. “It’s like a dream come true.”
Cortés designed a cross based on drawings by Gaudí. (The Catalan architect has been deemed “venerable” and is now eligible for sainthood.) The cross stands five stories tall and weighs about 100 tons.
Designing a structure as lightweight as possible was paramount, which explains in part the material selection Cortés deployed: The cross has four arms that extend outward, making it 3D. It is made of stainless steel, enameled white ceramic cladding, and stained glass from Catalonia.
The structure was manufactured in Germany and shipped to Barcelona in different pieces. Cladding and glass were laid into place upon arrival.
Cranes hoisted the cross structure to a workshop 200 feet above the ground. Construction experts then cladded the stainless steel structure with the enameled white ceramic cladding and glass, arranged in a triangular pattern.
From the workshop in the sky, the cross was then lifted again to its final destination atop the central Tower of Jesus Christ, completed in February.
With the cross, Sagrada Família now stands 566 feet, the tallest church in the world.
