Pope Leo XIV embarked on his first major European trip with his June 6-12 visit to Spain, themed “Lift up your eyes.” One of the highlights of the papal visit was his June 10 stop at the Basilica of the Holy Family in Barcelona, where the world did just that as he inaugurated its 564-foot Tower of Jesus Christ. Here is a look at the fascinating history of the basilica that has become the tallest church in the world.
The idea of the basilica, known in Spanish as Sagrada Familia, was proposed by St. Josep Manyanet Vives, a Catalan priest known for his devotion to the Holy Family. In 1871, a Catholic association dedicated to St. Joseph embarked on a pilgrimage to Rome that included a stop at the famed Marian shrine of Loreto. The original neo-Gothic design of the basilica was intended to resemble the shrine in Loreto. The design was altered two years after the cornerstone was laid due to differences between the bishop and the project’s first architect, Francisco de Paula del Villar. The project was then taken over by famed Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí, whose sainthood cause is underway. Pope Leo inaugurated the tower on the 100th anniversary of Gaudí’s death.