On June 10, 1926, the architect Antoni Gaudí died in Barcelona, three days after being struck by a tram.
One hundred years later, on June 10, 2026, his death was commemorated by Leo XIV. The pope celebrated Mass in the Basilica of the Sagrada Família, the crowning masterpiece of the Spanish architect.
The celebration was attended by five thousand Catholic faithful, who together with Pope Leo remembered the legacy of the man now known as “The Architect of God.”
POPE LEO XIV
As a passionate architect of faith, the venerable Antoni Gaudí conceived these spaces with the desire to narrate the mysteries of the Lord’s life: in this way he has proposed a spiritual pilgrimage that leads to an encounter with Christ, born, died, and risen for us.
As part of his fourth apostolic journey, Pope Leo traveled to Barcelona, the Catalan capital, to bless the basilica’s tallest tower. At 564 feet high, the church is now the tallest in the world.
POPE LEO XIV
The Cross of Christ, which crowns this basilica, is the cross of the last who become the first, of sinners who become saints, of the dead who will rise again. The three façades of the Sagrada Família bear witness to this: the First becomes the last for us in the Nativity; through his sacrifice he redeems us through the Passion; his death gives us eternal life, making us participants in divine glory.
During his homily for the Mass, the pope not only remembered and honored the legacy of Antoni Gaudi, but took the opportunity, as he has done many times, to make emphatic appeals for peace in a time of war.
POPE LEO XIV
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.
One hundred years later, the Sagrada Família is still unfinished, and it remains under ongoing construction. Pope Leo seized on this, comparing the construction of the church to the Christian life—that is, a path that is never completed in this life and which represents God’s project for each person.
