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The Sagrada Família unveils its tallest tower with a visit from Leo XIV
Barcelona will experience a historic moment at the Sagrada Família. The Tower of Jesus Christ, the basilica’s tallest, will be blessed and inaugurated by Pope Leo XIV on 10 June, just as one hundred years have passed since Antoni Gaudí’s death.
The tower reaches 172.5 metres and definitively changes the city's skyline. At that height, the Sagrada Família becomes the tallest church in the world and completes the most symbolic vertical element of the project imagined by Gaudí.
The milestone does not mean that the entire basilica is finished. Work remains outstanding, especially on the Glory façade and the external surroundings, but completion of the central tower marks one of the most important steps since construction began in 1882.
León XIV's visit will give the day an international dimension. The Pope will officiate a solemn Mass in the basilica and then bless the tower, in an event that combines religion, architecture, heritage and Barcelona's global projection.
The moment comes during Año Gaudí and in the midst of the World Capital of Architecture, two events that have once again placed the architect's work at the centre of the cultural agenda. For the city, it is not only a religious celebration: it is also a way of asserting one of its most recognisable symbols.
The Sagrada Família has grown alongside Eixample for generations and has become a daily reference point for residents, visitors and neighbourhood workers. Its construction has prompted admiration, debate and urban inconveniences, but it has also kept alive a work that forms part of Barcelona's visual identity.
The inauguration of the Torre de Jesucristo will also affect mobility and daily life in the surrounding area. The Pope's presence, the security arrangements and the arrival of visitors will require journeys to be planned with more time to spare in an area already accustomed to heavy tourist pressure.
This milestone encapsulates a tension very characteristic of the city: universal heritage and neighbourhood life sharing the same space. The Sagrada Família will remain under construction, but from now on its central tower already dominates the skyline as the most visible sign of a project that has passed through centuries, crises and generations.