Barcelona was at the centre of a major religious and civic event on Wednesday, when Pope Leo XIV blessed the Sagrada Família’s Jesus Christ Tower. The ceremony marked the centenary of architect Antoni Gaudí’s death and the official inauguration of the 172.5-metre tower.
Thousands gathered around the basilica in the Eixample district, with streets filling hours before the Pope arrived. The Popemobile travelled through the area from Passeig de Gràcia and Diagonal Avenue, then along Carrer Rosselló and Carrer Sardenya. Inside the basilica, an estimated 8,000 people attended the mass. For more on the tower itself, see our earlier report on the Jesus Christ Tower being crowned.
In his homily, Pope Leo XIV described the Sagrada Família as a “sign of unity and concord”. He said Barcelona and Catalonia come together in the temple to “raise their gaze towards God”. He also gave a message of peace, saying, “We cannot believe in Jesus and promote war. We cannot believe in Jesus and kill the innocent. We cannot believe in Jesus and abandon those who suffer, those who weep, those who flee from misery.”
Among those present were Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Catalan President Salvador Illa, Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia. A notable moment came when Valentina, a 13-year-old visually impaired girl, used a tactile model to explain the tower’s features to the Pope and the Royal Family. She made the model with the National Organisation of the Blind of Spain and the Sagrada Família.
The Pope later went down into Gaudí’s crypt with Cardinal Juan José Omella, the Archbishop of Barcelona. He prayed and lit a candle before Antoni Gaudí’s tomb. The crypt, built in 1882, was the first part of the temple to be constructed, and its role was highlighted again during the centenary year.
At 21:30, the tower was lit up, turning the blessing into a citywide visual moment. The cross at the top is more than ten metres high and can be seen from many parts of Barcelona, especially at dusk. The evening also included children singing with warm lamps, a drone display of Gaudí’s face and fireworks around the basilica. The Sagrada Família’s official site has more on the basilica and its ongoing work.
Cardinal Omella thanked the Pope for visiting Catalonia and said his words were “a good seed sown in our hearts”. He also praised former Archbishop Lluís Martínez Sistach for his work on the project. The day ended with Barcelona’s skyline, and the Sagrada Família, taking on a new place in the city’s story.
