Sagrada Família

The Basílica de la Sagrada Família is the most ambitious church project of the modern era. Construction began in 1882 under architect Francisco de Paula del Villar, but the project's identity was forged the following year when Antoni Gaudí took over and devoted the remaining 43 years of his life to its design. Gaudí reimagined Gothic architecture through organic, naturalistic forms inspired by trees, geology, and the geometry of creation itself — producing a structure unlike any church before or since.

When Gaudí was struck by a tram and killed in 1926, only a small portion of the basilica was complete. He had left exhaustive models and drawings, but much of his work was destroyed during the Spanish Civil War in 1936. Construction has proceeded for nearly 150 years based on Gaudí's surviving designs, his preserved models, and the interpretive work of successive architects. Pope Benedict XVI consecrated the basilica in 2010, raising it to Minor Basilica status.

The church is now approaching completion, with the central Tower of Jesus Christ — the tallest — scheduled for completion in the coming years, which will make Sagrada Família the tallest church in the world.

Sagrada Família welcomes over 4.5 million visitors annually, making it one of Europe's most visited religious sites. While construction continues, Masses are celebrated daily, and the basilica hosts major liturgical events including midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. Gaudí himself, whose canonization cause is open, is buried in the crypt, and a growing movement of pilgrims venerate him as the 'Architect of God.'