Pope Leo to bless Barcelona’s towering architectual masterpiece

SpainPope Leo to bless Barcelona’s towering architectual masterpieceAntoni Gaudí, dubbed “God’s architect,” designed the Sagrada Familia, and was put on the path to sainthood by Leo’s predecessor Pope Francis.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Add NBC News to GooglePope Leo to visit La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona on 100th anniversary of Gaudí's death03:22Get more newsLiveonShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJune 10, 2026, 6:41 AM EDTBy Claudio LavangaBARCELONA, Spain — Pope Leo XIV will offer his formal blessing to the highest spire of what is now the world’s tallest church, when he holds Mass at the iconic Sagrada Familia in Barcelona Wednesday. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The event, the highlight of a weeklong trip to Spain that has already drawn huge crowds, is being held at the modernist basilica to coincide with the centenary of the death of its architect, Antoni Gaudí.The American pontiff has recently clashed with President Donald Trump over the war in Iran and immigration, issues he has highlighted on this tour of the predominantly Catholic nation. It has also featured minor controversies over Leo’s sports fandom, and a private meeting with Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny.The visit will be capped by the Mass Wednesday evening at one of the world’s most visited though unfinished sites.Standing at 566 feet high and crowned with a five-story ceramic cross, the central Tower of Jesus Christ is the highest of 18 adorning the Sagrada Familia, a bucket list item for most travelers to the city in Spain’s northeastern Catalonia region. Leo will also commemorate the legacy of its architect, Gaudí, whose radical, modernist designs, were mocked in his lifetime but have subsequently been celebrated. Gaudí took over the construction of Sagrada Familia in 1883, a year after the first cornerstone laid during the pontificate of Leo’s namesake, Pope Leo XIII. The recently completed tower at An...