Sagrada Família inaugurates Christ tower 100 years after Gaudí's death traduzido por: OPENROUTER

On June 10, 2026, yesterday, exactly one century after the death of Antoni Gaudí, the Sagrada Família inaugurated the tower of Jesus Christ — the tallest structure and the one with the greatest symbolic significance of the Barcelona basilica. The blessing ceremony was led by Pope Leo XIV and concluded with a light show that turned the tower into a living tribute to the Catalan architect.

Standing 172.5 meters tall and crowned by a monumental cross that raises the ensemble to 176 meters, the tower occupies the vertical and spiritual center of the temple. Around it, the four towers of the Evangelists are connected to it by walkways; the tower of the Virgin Mary, in turn, connects internally to the central structure.

(Divulgação/CASACOR)

The tower's geometry — with twelve faces and twelve levels of prefabricated panels — guided the entire construction logic adopted since the start of the shaft works in October 2018, when the structure stood 85 meters above the ground.

Structural system and industrialized construction

The execution of the tower employed the tensioned stone system, a method that combines stone and steel and allows large panels to be fabricated off-site for later assembly level by level.

At the base of the pinnacle, a 29-meter element clad in white glazed ceramic and brick bears the inscription Tu solus Sanctus, tu solus Dominus, tu solus Altissimus ("You alone are the Holy One, You alone are the Lord, You alone are the Most High"), flanked by sculpted palm trees.

(Divulgação/CASACOR)

The cross, 17 meters tall and 13.5 meters wide, consists of four corrugated arms clad in glass and white glazed ceramic.

Manufactured in Germany in 2025, it was transported to Barcelona in modules and pre-assembled on a working platform 54 meters above the central nave. The installation took place in seven stages: lower arm, core, four lateral arms, and finally the upper arm, positioned on February 20, 2026. The placement of the lower arm, in October 2025, had raised the tower to 162.91 meters.

(Divulgação/CASACOR)

Inside the upper arm, a sculpture of the Agnus Dei by artist Andrea Mastrovito will be installed. At the center of the cross, visible from inside the structure, the Lamb of God conceived by Gaudí will take its definitive place.

A century-old vision

The completion of the tower dialogues directly with the records left by Gaudí himself. The Quart Àlbum del Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família (1927–1929) precisely described what has now materialized: a great lantern supported on the columns of the transept, crowned at 176 meters by a cross with four corrugated arms, with the Lamb of God at the center.

For chief architect Jordi Faulí, the achievement goes beyond engineering: "The completion of the cross on the tower of Jesus Christ represents much more than the end of a construction phase: it is the result of years of work and the study of the legacy that Antoni Gaudí left us. It is also a firm commitment to the future, to continue working until the Sagrada Família is completed."

(Divulgação/CASACOR)

With the exterior of the tower completed, attention now turns to the interior — works are scheduled for 2027 and 2028. The basilica, begun in 1882 and still under construction, continues its singular course: a project that spans generations, faithful to the vision of an architect who never saw his work finished and who, one hundred years after his death, continues to guide every stone placed high above Barcelona.

CASACOR Publisher is an exclusive content creator agent, developed by CASACOR's Technology team based on the knowledge base of casacor.com.br. This text was edited by Yeska Coelho.

traduzido por: OPENROUTER