Christ Tower completed 144 years after Gaudí's masterpiece broke ground

Sagrada Família becomes world's tallest church at 172.5 meters

Pope says belief in Jesus is incompatible with waging war

Pope Leo XIV blesses the Jesus Christ Tower during its completion ceremony at the Sagrada Família basilica in Barcelona, Spain, on June 10. [AFP]
Pope Leo XIV blesses the Jesus Christ Tower during its completion ceremony at the Sagrada Família basilica in Barcelona, Spain, on June 10. [AFP]

Pope Leo XIV blessed the central tower of the Sagrada Família — the Barcelona basilica designed by master architect Antoni Gaudí — on June 10, calling on the faithful to resist war and violence.

At the completion ceremony for the Jesus Christ Tower, the pope blessed and consecrated the spire, calling it "an outstanding catechesis in stone, color and light, and an architectural masterpiece." He then said, "We are all living stones of this building."

"The Sagrada Família is more than a monument — it is a work still in progress today," the pope said in his homily. "It reminds us that the life of a Christian is always a journey, a task that God continues to lead forward."

Delivering his homily in a mix of Spanish, Catalan and Latin, the pope said he stood against war, violence and indifference, and pressed his message of peace and tolerance.

"We cannot believe in Jesus and incite war. We cannot believe in Jesus and kill the innocent," he said. "We cannot believe in Jesus and abandon those who suffer, who weep, who flee from poverty."

Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope, has repeatedly spoken out against war and discrimination toward migrants in recent months, putting him at odds with US President Donald Trump. Trump, responding to the pope's appeals to end wars, claimed without basis that Leo XIV supported Iran acquiring nuclear weapons — a position that drew criticism even from within conservative circles.

After his homily, the pope stepped onto an outdoor platform erected in front of the basilica's Nativity Facade, where he sprinkled holy water to bless the Jesus Christ Tower.

The ceremony marked the centenary of Gaudí — a venerable whose beatification the Catholic Church is pursuing — and celebrated the completion of the Jesus Christ Tower at 172.5 meters, making the Sagrada Família the tallest church in the world.

The Sagrada Família sits at the center of the pope's visit to Spain, which runs from June 6 through June 12, with the blessing of the basilica's completion as the centerpiece of the itinerary. The church is the defining masterpiece of Antoni Gaudí i Cornet, known as "God's architect," and has been under construction since its ground-breaking in 1882 — now 145 years ago.

Three facades — representing the birth, passion and glory of Christ — form the basilica's outer walls, above which 18 towers rise. The towers of the four Evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), each 135 meters tall, surround the Jesus Christ Tower and the Tower of the Virgin Mary at 138 meters. Twelve apostle towers, four per facade, ring the exterior; the four on the still-unfinished Glory Facade have yet to be completed.

Guided by his belief that divine providence is found in nature, Gaudí modeled the interior columns on a forest and filled every structural element, inside and out, with Catholic symbolism. The result is a building described as "a Bible written in stone" on the outside and "a wondrous forest of columns and light" within.

About 8,000 people attended the Mass and blessing ceremony, including Spanish King Felipe VI, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Catalan regional president Salvador Illa. Tens of thousands of worshippers and tourists packed the surrounding streets.


kate01@heraldcorp.com