The Local Spain’s reporter and long-term Barcelona resident Esme Fox reports from the Sagrada Familia as Pope Leo XIV blesses its tallest tower.
Wednesday June 10th was a historic day for the city of Barcelona – the centenary of the death of Sagrada Familia’s architect Antoni Gaudí, as well as the inauguration of the basilica’s central tower, which now makes it the world’s tallest church at 172.5 metres.
The event was commemorated with a mass presided over by Pope Leo XIV and attended by King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, among hundreds of other dignitaries, members of the press and selected members of parishes from around the city.
When I arrived at the Sagrada Familia four hours before the start of the mass, the atmosphere in the city was strangely quiet – roads had been blocked off, and people had already begun to gather outside the fences which surrounded the entire Sagrada Familia block. The only sound was that of the helicopters circling overhead.
I first visited the Sagrada Familia on a backpacking trip around Spain in 2003. Back then, the inside wasn’t even complete, the stained glass hadn’t been installed, and sandbags lay all over the floor.
During the last 12 years living in Barcelona, I have witnessed the basilica’s transformation first hand, watching daily as it climbed higher and higher. I was there when they lit the star at the top of the Tower of Virgin Mary for the first time in 2021 and when they celebrated the anniversary of the laying of the first stone back in March.
I remember years ago speaking with my family about the historic day the Sagrada Familia would finally be completed in 2026. Back then it seemed a long way off. Unfortunately, construction schedules haven’t exactly gone to plan over the years and the basilica hasn’t been finished on time, but thankfully it’s central Jesus Christ tower has.
Back in September 2025, when I interviewed the current architect Jordi Faulí, he confirmed that the whole Glory Façade still had to be built, which wouldn’t be finished for another 10 years.
Before heading to my place, I got the chance to have a quick peek inside the basilica and witness the busy preparations for the big event.
The balconies around me were full of people who had come to see Pope Leo XIV for themselves, and echoes of “Viva el Papa” (Long live the Pope) and the crowd responding “Viva” reverberated around the square. Flags of all kinds fluttered from the rooftops, from Catalonia and Spain to Colombia and Palestine.
When the pontiff finally arrived at the doors of the Sagrada Familia, the crowd were electric, cheers rose up in unison.
The mass began with the Pope’s visit to the basilica’s crypt where he paid his respects to Gaudí, who was buried here on June 12th, 1926 – two days after he died from being hit by a tram.
When the Pope emerged in the main basilica above surrounded by Gaudí’s forest of stone and glass, he was accompanied by a choir of 600 voices all seated in their balconies. Outside, the sound was amplified and projected over the crowd watching the mass on giant screens.
What followed was a solemn mass with all its pomp and circumstance.
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“We are all living stones of this work”, the pontiff said of the Sagrada Familia during his oration.
The Sagrada Familia is one of the world’s longest running construction projects, having taken 144 years so far and the Pope found comfort in this saying that “God is calling upon us to collaborate with this building”.
At the end of the mass Pope Leo VIX was called upon to bless the Tower of Jesus Christ, the basilica’s tallest, which had recently been completed and topped with an emblematic cross.
The Pope blesses the new Jesus Christ Tower. Photo: Manuel Queimadelos / Sagrada Familia
“This cross shines by day, reflecting the sunlight, and shines by night, illuminating the city like a lighthouse overlooking the Mediterranean,” the Pope said.
“It will be a light in our city to guide us in times of darkness,” added the Archbishop of Barcelona Joan Josep Omella, who thanked Gaudí for his work and honoured him throughout his speech.
READ ALSO: Over 1.2 million people attend Pope’s mass in Madrid
Choir boys and girls came out onto the balcony of the basilica holding candles, their ethereal voices floated out over the crowd.
The city was silent, entranced by the beauty of Gaudí’s greatest work. Apart from the singing, the only sound that could be heard was the flap of a bird’s wing overhead.
All of us in the crowd had been given electric candles to join in the light display which would inaugurate the tower. As the organ music began to play and a series of lights shot up the tower, the crowd was bathed in white light as hundreds of candles, perfectly and automatically synced, began to glow at different times, creating patterns surrounding the basilica.
To culminate, the cross on the tower was finally lit, fireworks illuminated its iconic façades from every angle and overhead drones outlined the face of Gaudí smiling down on his creation.
“The whole event was exuberant and magnificent,” architecture student Lluc Sistach i Bosch told The Local Spain. “What a moment”. While most of the crowd had been calling out to Pope Leo XIV and showing their love for him at the end of the evening, Sistach had shouted “Thank you Gaudí”.
While Gaudís vision may not yet be fully complete, the inauguration of the Jesus Christ Tower brings us one step closer to realising his incredible vision. No other person has left their mark on the Catalan capital quite like Gaudí, who has often been called God’s architect.
