Faith and genius came together in the life of Antoni Gaudí, who in Barcelona made the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia an act of love for God and personal penance. On April 14, 2025, Pope Francis declared it declared venerable
by Don Bruno Capparoni
LPope Leo XIV's visit to the city of Barcelona, and the Holy Mass celebrated on June 10 in the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia, drew the world's attention to this great church, which has become one of the Catalan city's main attractions. It commands attention with the vertical soaring of its eighteen towers, including the one dedicated to Jesus Christ, completed in 2026, which, at 172,5 meters, is the tallest religious building on the planet. Its three facades are dedicated respectively to the Nativity, the Passion, and the Glory.
But this architectural work, so striking and original, must not make us forget the figure of its architect, Antoni Gaudí y Cornet (1852-1926), the centenary of whose death we are now commemorating. He embodied the lights of genius and sanctity.
He was born in Reus, Catalonia, on June 25, 1852, the fifth child of Francesc Gaudí i Serra and Antonia Cornet i Bertran, and was baptized the following day. He attended school in Reus, where he was perhaps an irregular student, but undoubtedly brilliant and original. He amazed teachers and classmates with his lively intelligence and the acumen with which he observed the world around him—an aptitude that would prove congenial to his future architectural projects.
In Barcelona, he began his studies at the School of Architecture and, despite encountering difficulties due to his intolerance for rigid academicism, he completed his studies brilliantly in 1878, obtaining the title of architect with a final grade of "excellent." Over the years, Gaudí underwent a true stylistic "odyssey," finally arriving at a completely personal and unmistakable language. He devoted himself primarily to private construction, creating masterpieces such as the Casa Batlló, with its façade covered in colored glass mosaics and bone-like cast iron balconies, and the Casa Mila, known as the La Pedrera, characterised by a wavy and plastic facade in living stone.
In 1883 he received the commission that would define his life forever: to continue the construction of the Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, begun the previous year by architect Francisco de Paula del Villar y Lozano. From that moment, the monumental work completely absorbed Antoni Gaudí's energies until his death. He embodied a profound spiritual dimension in the Sagrada Familia, countering the anarchic and socialist ferments of the early twentieth century with the values of a lived and contemplative Christianity.
In 1886, the Sagrada Familia was little more than an idea under construction, with only the crypt and the first walls of the apse completed. It was in the crypt that Saint John Bosco met the young Antoni Gaudí. Gaudí acted as a guide to the "saint of Turin," who was visiting his Salesians in Barcelona, and showed him the drawings, explaining the complex religious symbolism he intended to express in the church. It is said that Gaudí was deeply impressed by the humility and physical exhaustion of Don Bosco, who by then appeared worn out by his labors.
From 1912 onwards his life was marked by a series of bereavements, including the death of his faithful patron Eusebi Güell (1918); to this was added a serious economic crisis, which threatened to block the construction of the Sagrada Familia.
Gaudí was nicknamed by his contemporaries "the architect of God." His religiosity, steeped in prayer and Franciscan spirit, was symbolically translated into the spires of his church soaring toward the sky. His lifestyle fully embodied the soul of Saint Francis: like the Poverello of Assisi, Gaudí embraced poverty, placing his talent at the service of faith.
From 1883 until his death in 1926, the Sagrada Familia became a true spiritual mission for Gaudí. He gradually withdrew from public life, dedicating himself entirely to the construction site. In his final years, he lived as a hermit, sleeping in a small room within the basilica itself, studying and working day and night. His simple and austere life, spent in silence and poverty, was a reflection of a single aspiration: to build the house of God in the heart of the city of men. Deeply sensitive to the poor of Barcelona, he welcomed them generously, convinced that no one should leave him empty-handed.
His end was as humble as it was dramatic. On the evening of June 7, 1926, after a day's work, he was on his way to the church of San Filippo Neri to pray when he was hit by a tram. He fell to the ground, seriously injured, and no one recognized him: his humble appearance led people to believe he was a beggar. Passersby rescued him and took him to the Santa Creu hospital, where he was admitted to the ward for the poor. Only the following day, thanks to the intervention of friends who were concerned about his absence, was his identity recognized.
Antoni Gaudí died on June 10, 1926, after three days of agony, and his funeral was attended by a large crowd of admirers and religious and civic dignitaries. His remains were interred in the crypt of the Sagrada Familia, with government authorization and the blessing of Pope Pius XI. Benedict XVI, in the solemn act of consecration of the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia on November 7, 2010, said of him: "Antoni Gaudí was a brilliant architect and a consistent Christian, whose torch of faith burned until the end of his life, which he lived with dignity and absolute austerity."