La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain

“The expiatory church of La Sagrada Familia is made by the people and is mirrored in them. It is a work that is in the hands of God and the will of the people.”

Antoni Gaudi

Long before our cruise took us to the Port in Barcelona, Joe and I knew what we wanted to do on our day here. We had been to Barcelona back in 1985 while living in Germany, while Joe was in the Army and had been transferred to Goeppingen, Germany. We drove there and when we got to the town, we saw a huge building and were fascinated with what it was. When we found out and saw it up close, we fell in love with La Sagrada Familia. The details amazed us as we walked around and looked at the outside of the cathedral. We had not bought tickets to get inside then and we would have had to do so ahead of time, so we just explored it from the outside. We knew this time we had to go inside to see the cathedral.

This time we were on a tour and got to hear the full story of this Roman Catholic Basilica. The cornerstone was placed and ground breaking was begun in 1882. It was the inspiration of Josep Maria Bocabella who hired Francisco de Paula del Villar as the chief architect. He resigned in 1883 and Antoni Gaudi took over as the chief architect. This beautiful church is totally paid for by private funds.

Gaudi was born in 1852 in Reus, a Catalan town and son a craftsman. He studied architecture in Barcelona and liked to design his architectural space with sculptures, mosaics, furniture, and stained glass windows. His strong faith is apparent and he believed that God is perfect and creations with nature are an extension of God’s perfection. He built this cathedral out of his love for God and as a tribute to God and nature. Once Antoni Gaudi started on this project, he gave up all his other projects and worked on this Cathedral till he died. The cathedral was only ¼ finished when he died. He died in 1926 after being hit by a tram at age 73 and is buried in a crypt in La Sagrada Familia along with Josep Maria Bocabella.

Standing on the outside of this magnificent building and looking up, we saw beautiful statues of angels, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. The more you looked, the more details came to life. The church’s bell towers that were visible standing tall and strong and have a bee hive look to them as they reach towards the heavens. There are eight bell towers that have been built and when it is complete there will be 18. The highest will represent Christ, and there is another for the Virgin Mary, and four towers for the Evangelist, and another twelve for the Apostles. The highest bell tower will reach to the heavens at 560 feet making this the tallest church in the world. When you look at its height now, it is amazing to think it will go up even higher in the sky.

When you walk into this church, the inside comes alive with pillars that are tree like and have an organic feel as if the church was alive. The stained glass windows are brilliant and the display of light coming in the windows is the most beautiful thing you can imagine. When you look up at the ceiling which is incredibly high and ornately decorated, and makes you feel quite small and insignificant. We were in awe looking at detail after detail of the incredible home built for God and God’s people. My, it must be incredible to hear a choir singing hear and to hear mass. Pope Benedict XVI consecrated the church on November 7, 2010. The main sanctuary is built in the shape of a cross and holds 15,000 people and another area to seat a 1000 member choir.

After walking around the inside we went outside and walked around all the sides of the church. This is truly gorgeous. This church has been controversial as you either really dislike it or love it. I am enthralled by it and thinks it is glorious.

The projected completion date is 2026 and they now state they will finish all the details in 2032. If it is completed in 2026, it would have taken 144 years to complete and would be 100 years since the death of Antoni Gaudi.

Seeing this Basilica made the trip all worth while. Joe and I had come back to Barcelona, a lovely city and do plan to come back when it is complete. We are huge fans of Gaudi and his work and I will blog more about him as we head to Parc Guell, another of his amazing creations.