The 144-year journey of the Sagrada Familia approaches its end, with the Tower of Jesus Christ ready

Pope Leo XIV presides, this Wednesday, at the inauguration mass of the last tower of the church, where a cross was installed in the last few months

It’s inevitable. Everyone looks up. When visitors arrive at the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, ​​their eyes instinctively follow the sinuous, surreal lines of the basilica’s sculptural towers, until they reach the top of each spire.

Their gaze now extends higher than ever: more than 144 years after construction began, the world’s tallest church reached its final height of 172 meters with the installation of its last major structural element, a cross at the top of the church, in February.

Delayed by wars, politics and lack of funding, the imposing but unfinished presence of the Sagrada Familia has dominated Barcelona’s skyline for decades. Now, the long-awaited last tower is finally ready for its inauguration.

This Wednesday, – the 11th pontiff to reign since the beginning of the project – presides over a solemn mass and a ceremonial blessing. There may still be years of non-structural work to be completed, but 2026 has long been earmarked for this actual opening. The inauguration of the 18th tower marks 100 years, on the exact day, since the death of the church’s visionary architect, Antoni Gaudí.

A triumph of color, craftsmanship, and remarkable geometry, the Sagrada Familia is a monument not only to faith but also to Gaudí’s reverence for nature and his mastery of complex engineering. Its completion is a testament to the efforts of the countless designers and architects who had to decipher the plans for the church, which were largely destroyed in the 1930s.

The complexity of the project was, in many ways, encapsulated by its final piece of the architectural puzzle. With its brilliant white surface reflecting the scorching Spanish sun, the cross that crowns the Tower of Jesus Christ (the other 17 towers are dedicated to the 12 apostles, the four evangelists and the Virgin Mary) is the height of a five-story building and weighs around 100 tons. Its installation was a complex process that took months.

According to Mauricio Cortés, the architect responsible, Gaudí had imagined a reflective cross that would shine during the day and illuminate the horizon at night. Cortés, like all his predecessors, faced two major challenges: remaining faithful to Gaudí’s vision and, at the same time, satisfying rigorous engineering requirements (in this case, keeping the needle relatively light).

The cross was manufactured in Germany and delivered to Spain in 14 prefabricated sections made of concrete and stainless steel. This last material, although not widely used in Gaudí’s time, provided the necessary strength while simultaneously reducing the total weight. This convergence between history and modernity was one of the many delicate compromises necessary to bring the architect’s project to life.

Once in Barcelona, ​​each section was lifted by crane to a workshop situated 60 meters above the ground, directly on top of the basilica’s central nave. There, workers finished pieces with stone interiors, white glazed ceramic cladding and windows made from locally sourced glass, before the structure was assembled and moved into position.

“Obviously, times have changed and technology has evolved, as have regulations,” says Cortés, as he leads CNN on a tour of the basilica ahead of the inauguration. But the Mexican architect is confident that the church remains faithful to Gaudí’s original vision. “We believe that we are very close (to their plans for) abroad. Absolutely”, he emphasizes. “As for the interior, since he didn’t define it in detail, there is more room for interpretation.”

Faith in heaven

From the vantage point of the elevated workshop, it is possible to see not only the entire city, but also the tallest architectural features of the basilica. The roof of the central nave explodes with color, with its gables decorated with vibrant ceramics. The bell towers atop the Nativity and Passion facades—massive walls that tell their respective biblical narratives in ornately carved stone—are crowned with insignia-like spiers made from mosaics of sparkling Venetian glass.

It’s a view that Gaudí knew he would never see in his lifetime. When he took over the project from architect Francesc de Paula Villar, who resigned due to a disagreement with the project’s promoter, he understood that he would never live to see the work completed. The scale and complexity of his vision made this nearly impossible.

“My client is in no hurry,” Gaudí famously replied when asked about completion dates. His client was neither the promoter nor the faithful of Barcelona, ​​it was God.

The Catalan architect lived long enough to see the first tower completed. But he could never have predicted the obstacles that would delay the project after his death in 1926.

Two factors proved particularly detrimental to progress: money and the Spanish Civil War.

The country was plunged into chaos ten years after Gaudí’s death. In July 1936, anarchists set fire to the church’s crypt and invaded the architect’s studio, destroying many of his plans and plaster models. Fortunately, not everything disappeared.

Much of the lost information was reconstructed by Gaudí’s disciples and collaborators, who had documented his ideas in books, articles, drawings and photographs. His work provided later generations of architects with valuable guidance.

Perhaps more importantly, he endowed his successors with a kind of design logic, explains Jordi Faulí, the chief architect currently overseeing the works. Although subsequent work has employed modern technology – from digital modeling software to – an underlying logic has endured.

“He created a method to design a system”, summarizes Faulí, adding: “When we analyze his models (or the fragments that remain of them), or photos of the models, we can easily interpret them, because we understand the surfaces that Gaudí used in the project and the way in which they intersect”.

Financing has represented another challenge. As an “expiatory temple”, the church is financed entirely through donations and, since its official opening to the public in 2010, income from visitors.

The vulnerability of this model became evident during the Covid-19 pandemic, when tourism collapsed and ticket sales fell drastically. Since then, however, visitor numbers have recovered strongly. In 2025 alone, the basilica received almost 5 million visitors.

The controversy persists

The Sagrada Familia may now appear complete, but it is far from finished. With the Tower of Jesus Christ already built – despite the interior, which is expected to be completed in 2028 – attention turned to the Facade of Glory.

The third and last of Gaudí’s decorated facades was conceived by the architect as the grand main entrance to the basilica. Its construction, however, generated tension with residents who live opposite the site.

The issue centers on a proposed staircase. Because the entrance portico is about four meters above street level, the Construction Council of the Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family (the non-profit foundation responsible for the work) proposed a monumental staircase that would connect the basilica to the street while allowing traffic to pass underneath.

This would require significant space and could involve the demolition of residential buildings situated directly across from the church. As such, many local businesses and residents oppose the proposal.

Among them is Alicia Busquets, who has lived in the neighborhood for three decades. Her apartment offers exceptional views of the basilica, but the uncertainty surrounding the project became a source of constant concern and prevented her from even investing in renovations.

“Who can guarantee that, in two years’ time, my house won’t be demolished?”, he asks.

Their concerns are shared by many neighbors, who say they still do not have clear information about the work schedule, according to Salvador Barroso, president of an association created by those affected by the proposals. The Building Commission, however, says it must first reach an agreement with city officials before engaging in dialogue with residents.

The controversy is unlikely to overshadow this week’s festivities. But it serves as a reminder that the basilica remains unfinished and that the fate of the people who spent years living in its shadow remains unresolved.

“We are at an impasse”, recognizes Salvador Barroso. “There are many rumors, many things to be said, but the reality is that nothing is certain. With the Pope’s visit… this is like a pressure cooker”, he adds.

*Madalena Araújo contributed to this article