The globally famous Basilica de La Sagrada Familia, located in central Barcelona, has been under construction since the 18th of May of 1882, when Bishop Urquinaona laid the first cornerstone of the temple, and the date which millions of people have been waiting for has finally been set. It has become official that the completion year of the Sagrada Familia will be 2026.
It all began in 1882 when Francisco de Paula del Villar shared his original design for the Sagrada Família, which included many neo-gothic features that revived key elements from medieval times. One year later, in 1883, some difficulties, such as the high prices of the materials that Francisco wanted to use, led his work into the hands of one of the most famous Spanish architects, Antoni Gaudí. Gaudí worked on the church as long as he could until he passed away. In 1926, a year after Gaudi died, his disciple Domènec Sugranyes took over the project, but only ten years later, the Sagrada Família was completely vandalized. Unfortunately, the Spanish Civil War led to many difficulties for the continuation of this large project, since photographs and plaster models of the building were all destroyed. On the bright side, many had already been published and could be used by the new site manager, Francesc de Paula Quintana, to continue the project. It wasn’t until 22 years and multiple additions to the temple later that the museum was created to explain historical, technical, artistic, and symbolic aspects of the church to its visitors. Thereafter, in 2010, Pope Benedict XVI consecrated the Basilica for religious worship and designated it as a minor basilica. Only one year later, in 2011, the temple was finally nominated for the 2010 Barcelona City Award in Architecture and Urban Planning.
Since that award, people have become even more intrigued by the temple and its construction, which had to stop in March 2020 due to the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Luckily, the COVID regulations didn’t have too much of an impact since a few months later, in October, the work on the Basilica resumed. On the 12th of November 2023, the Sagrada Familia inaugurated the four towers of the Evangelists. Their completion means that there’s only one tower of the five – the Jesus Christ tower – left to go, which is the central and tallest tower out of all of them, alongside what is known as the Glory Facade stairway.
The main issue with this is that the stairway included in the entrance, which is still under construction, was never included in Antoni Gaudí’s original plans, and because it potentially endangers residential neighborhoods nearby, local authorities have yet to decide what to do. Meanwhile, many neighbors have complained to the court, severely worried about how this Basilica may turn their lives around. Many people are hoping that this conflict about whether the Glory Facade should be built will be resolved soon, but for now, it has been stated that in only two years, this magnificent church, which began its long construction journey more than 140 years ago, will finally be finished. Just one decision may change everything.
Bibliography:
Wikipedia, https://theworld.org/stories/2023/02/07/barcelona-residents-limbo-over-sagrada-familia-construction-plans. Accessed 14 April 2024.
“Discover The History of La Sagrada Familia | 1882 to Today.” Sagrada Familia, https://sagradafamilia.barcelona-tickets.com/history-of-sagrada-familia/. Accessed 14 April 2024.
“History of the Temple – Sagrada Família.” Sagrada Familia, https://sagradafamilia.org/en/history-of-the-temple. Accessed 14 April 2024.
Lawson, Jo. “The Sagrada Familia Will Finally Be Completed in 2026. The Last Challenge? Demolishing the Homes of Some 3,000 Local Residents.” Artnet News, 13 February 2023, https://news.artnet.com/art-world/sagrada-familia-2026-local-residents-2254826. Accessed 14 April 2024.
Orie, Amarachi. “Barcelona’s famous Sagrada Familia cathedral nears completion as evangelist towers finished.” CNN, 2 October 2023,
https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/sagrada-familia-penultimate-towers-completed-intl-scli/index.html. Accessed 14 April 2024.