Barcelona’s Sagrada Família is the tallest Christian church in the world

Barcelona – Barcelona’s still-unfinished Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) became the world’s tallest church a year ago, on October 30, when its central tower reached a height of 162.9 metres. It surpassed Ulm Minster in Germany, whose 161.5-metre tower had made it the world’s tallest church since its completion in 1890. This year, a cross was installed atop the church’s central tower, which now rises 172.5 metres above the city.

The extraordinary Sagrada Família (Holy Family), one of the symbols of the Catalan capital, has been under construction for more than 140 years. Antoni Gaudí’s most famous work, which attracts millions of tourists each year, is still unfinished. This June, the basilica’s tallest tower was officially opened.

The Barcelona church is also unique in its combination of breathtaking architecture with nature and music. Gaudí designed spacious choir galleries to accommodate more than 1,500 singers. For him, singing was an essential part of the Mass. Thanks to the vaults and the placement of the choir galleries 15 to 20 metres above the ground, the ceiling acts as a giant sounding board, carrying the singers’ voices harmoniously throughout the basilica. Inspired by nature, Gaudí adorned the church with 160 small sculptures depicting various species of plants and animals—he believed that nature was God’s perfect creation.

Of the Sagrada Família’s three monumental façades, the east-facing Nativity Façade was largely completed during Gaudí’s lifetime. Hundreds of details from Catalonia’s natural world were carved into the stone, including plants, animals and insects. Two chameleons guard the entrance to the church, and the columns rest on sculptures of a sea turtle and a tortoise. Construction of the western Passion Façade began only after Gaudí’s death. It is supported by six slanting columns resembling sequoia trunks. The third, the Glory Façade, is the church’s largest and most important entrance façade and remains unfinished.

The decades-long effort to complete Gaudí’s work has involved a constant negotiation between the original vision and modern materials. The result is architecture in which faith speaks the language of the 21st century: "The fundamental reason why the Sagrada Família was not completed during Gaudí’s lifetime was a lack of money," explains historian Michael Eaude, author of a recent book on Gaudí’s life and work.

The idea for the famous church, however, did not originate with Gaudí himself. Its foundation stone was laid on March 19, 1882. Construction began according to a design by architect Francisco de Paula del Villar, but Gaudí took over the work in late 1883 and reshaped it in his exuberant style. After his death in 1926, construction continued according to his designs. During the Civil War (1936–1939), part of the building was gutted by fire, which also destroyed Gaudí’s plans and models. These were later reconstructed by architect Francesc de Paula Quintana, a former collaborator of Gaudí’s.

Gaudí regarded the construction of the church "as a mission entrusted to him by God, and with this awareness he transformed the original neo-Gothic project into something different and original," Vatican News wrote at the time of the building’s consecration. The basilica, with its nave and four aisles, a three-aisled transept and twelve bell towers, was intended to reflect the hierarchy of the Christian universe. The central Tower of Jesus Christ deliberately does not exceed the height of Barcelona’s Montjuïc hill: Gaudí wanted this to express that human work would never surpass God’s creation.

Work on the church repeatedly stopped and resumed in the decades that followed, led by a diverse group of artists and architects who sought to reconcile Gaudí’s distinctive style with elements of contemporary aesthetics. The church was consecrated on November 7, 2010, by Pope Benedict XVI, who also granted it the title of minor basilica, although it was only one-fifth complete at the time. The pope praised the genius of Gaudí, who, "inspired by the fervour of his Christian faith, was able to transform this church into a hymn of praise to God in stone."

The main tower and the central structural complex were completed this year, but full completion of the basilica, including the Glory Façade, could take until the mid-2030s.

When historian Eaude was asked about efforts to declare the basilica finished, he recalled one of Gaudí’s most famous remarks: "My client," the architect once said, referring to God himself, "is in no hurry."