Sagrada Familia, there is a date for the launch of the tallest tower. “June 2026, we invited Leone”

Sagrada Familia . There is a date for the inauguration of the tallest tower. The iconic church of Barcelona, ​​the ingenious and unfinished work of Antoni Gaudí, which, with its construction time currently at 143 years, has recreated in Europe the very idea of ​​a cathedral factory that had been set aside for centuries, can finally boast the title of the tallest church in the world. Even if it is not yet considered complete.

The invitation to the pontiff

The date, according to rumors confirmed by the archbishop's communications delegate, Ramon Ollé RIbalta, is June 10, 2026. On that occasion, as happened for Notre-Dame , which celebrated the reopening, 5 years after the tragic fire , with world leaders, the Tower of Jesus of the Sagrada Familia will be inaugurated in grand style. It will happen on the centenary of the death of its creator with a solemn ceremony to which, explains Monsignor Ollé, "Cardinal Juan Josep Omella ( archbishop of the Catalan metropolis ) personally invited Pope Leo XIV to celebrate the solemn mass scheduled in the basilica that afternoon". The Pope - for the moment - has not confirmed his presence.

Next week's mass

Meanwhile, on June 10, for the 99th anniversary of Gaudí's death, Monsignor Omella will preside over a mass in the basilica in front of 2,500 faithful, to thank the great architect for being declared venerable, one of the last acts of Pope Francis.

Meanwhile, in the infinite factory, work is in full swing for the completion, scheduled for the end of the year, of the Tower of Jesus, 172.5 metres high, just a couple of metres less than the nearby Montjuïc hill because, according to Gaudí, "a work of man cannot surpass that of God".

The biggest challenge is the installation of the terminal of the cross, which will tower over the temple, consisting of four arms 17 meters high and 13.5 meters wide, made of glass and covered in onyx and ceramic. The cross, weighing a total of 100 tons, will contain a lookout overlooking the city. The installation has required an unprecedented engineering and logistics process that should be completed in February 2026, according to the communications team of the Junta Constructora de la Sagrada Familia.

The grand staircase is still missing

The works - which continue while the church is an obligatory destination for visitors, which have gone from half a million in 1992, the year of the Olympics, to 4.8 million in 2024 - have also been started for the Gloria façade, on Calle Maiorca, but only for the vertical part. For the construction of the staircase imagined by Gaudí, which will lead to the main entrance to the temple, negotiations are still underway between the City of Barcelona, ​​the residents' associations and the Junta Constructora, for the expropriation of buildings, which currently house about a hundred families, which should be demolished, to make room for the construction. The Cathedral factory will remain open beyond 2026, 146 years after the laying of the first stone, 1882, straddling three centuries and two millennia.