Pope moves "God's architect" Antoni Gaudí one step closer to sainthood

Antoni Gaudí, the architect behind the Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona, has been declared "Venerable" by Pope Francis, the second step in the path to canonisation.

Gaudí was recognised by the Vatican for his "heroic virtues", according to Vatican News, the news portal of the Holy See.

"His focus was making art a hymn of praise to the Lord and he considered it his mission to make God known and bring people closer to Him," it stated.

The architect had already passed the first step to canonisation – being declared a "Servant of God". The second step, naming him "Venerable", means he is a "Christian who, having lived their life by Christian virtues, is a candidate for beatification", stated the Sagrada Familia.

The next step to becoming a saint is for a miracle to be "recognised as happening through their posthumous intercession", after which the person is beatified and called "Blessed".

Gaudí was first suggested for sainthood in 1992. An organisation, Associació pro Beatificació d'Antoni Gaudí, was formed to advocate for his advancement.

"We find that Gaudí is, as Luther King or Mother Teresa, one of the most well-known Christians and admired by contemporary global society," said historian Josep Maria Tarragona in 2010 of the work towards making him a saint.

Gaudí, who was born in 1852, took on the Sagrada Familia in 1883, dramatically changing its design after its first architect retired.

Construction on the monumental church, one of the most well-known religious buildings in the world, was led by him until he died in 1926 after being struck by a tram.

After his death in the Hospital de la Santa Creu, Barcelona's hospital for the poor, he was named "God's architect" by reverend Manel Trens i Ribas.

"'Serving God through architecture', this was Antoni Gaudí's motto for the more than 40 years he dedicated to the Temple, the last 14 years exclusively, even living on the grounds for his last months," Sagrada Familia said.

"Gaudí, moved by God's grace, aimed to create a work that would be 'a Bible in stone', Catechism open to all. This can be seen in every detail."

After Gaudí's passing, construction on the church – which was then less than a quarter complete – slowed down due to funding and the Spanish civil war.

But the church is now set to be completed in 2026, 100 years after Gaudí's death. Twelve of its 18 spires were completed by March last year, with a team from engineering firm Arup helping speed up construction.

The studio used prefabricated stone panels to build the remaining towers, Arup engineer Tristram Carfrae told Dezeen in an interview.

Recently, the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris reopened after a devastating fire in 2019.

The main photo is by Maksim Sokolov.

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