Pope Blesses New Sagrada Familia Tower Amid Fireworks and Light Show
Inside, sunlight streamed through stained-glass windows in vivid shades, casting colour between the basilica's tree-like columns as Leo delivered his homily in Spanish, Catalan and Latin.
With fireworks crackling overhead and a forest of spires lit in waves of colour, Pope Leo XIV on Sunday blessed a towering new addition to Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia after celebrating mass inside the unfinished landmark, now the tallest church in the world.
A fireworks and light display washed across the temple’s exterior at the close of the ceremony, drenching the basilica in shifting hues and drawing the eye to its newly dominant silhouette.
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A 600-voice choir sang during the service, which lasted about 90 minutes and drew Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia.
Inside, sunlight streamed through stained-glass windows in vivid shades, casting colour between the basilica’s tree-like columns as Leo delivered his homily in Spanish, Catalan and Latin.
Fireworks burst around the Sagrada Familia after the pope blessed the Jesus Christ tower
At the end of the mass, the US-born pontiff blessed the Sagrada Familia’s central Jesus Christ tower, completed in February and raising the basilica to its full height of 172.5m.
Its summit was intentionally kept below the 177m height of Barcelona’s Montjuic hill, a gesture of religious humility reflecting Gaudi’s belief that the hill was God’s creation.
Leo looked up toward the tower before sprinkling holy water in its direction, then turned and repeated the gesture toward the crowd as applause and cheers rang out.
People packed windows and balconies around the square to witness the moment.
“This cross shines by day, reflecting the sunlight, and shines by night, illuminating the city like a lighthouse overlooking the Mediterranean,” the pope said in his homily.
Thousands attended the mass inside the basilica, while a vast crowd outside followed the ceremony on a giant screen set up in front of the Sagrada Familia.
“It seems memorable, something to remember,” said Isabel Magallón, a 60-year-old administrative worker.
“I wanted to be at the event. I hesitated because of the crowds and everything, but I’m glad I came,” she added.
Pope Leo XIV blesses the Jesus Christ Tower at the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia
‘A source of joy’
The church remains an unfinished modernist masterpiece by architect Antoni Gaudi and drew nearly five million visitors last year.
Work on the Sagrada Familia began in 1882, and full completion is expected in roughly a decade.
“To see the tower of the Sagrada Familia completed and blessed by the pope fills me with joy,” said María del Carmen Guillaume, 80, one of 4,000 local residents invited to the mass.
The pope’s stop during a week-long trip to Spain comes as the country marks the 100th anniversary of Gaudi’s death on 10 June 1926.
The deeply devout Catholic, whose sainthood cause is moving forward at the Vatican, was struck by a tram while on his way to pray at a church.
The Covid-19 pandemic brought tourism to a standstill, cutting off the main source of revenue for Spain’s most-visited monument that charges admission.
Visitors from across the world have since returned in force, replenishing the basilica’s finances, which depend on ticket sales as well as private donations.
Even so, the construction board has been reluctant to announce a new completion date for the work still outstanding, including the controversial Glory Facade and its four bell towers.
The board’s proposal to place a broad staircase and a square in front of the main entrance would require the demolition of up to two blocks of homes.
Residents have spent years trying to stop the plan.
Before yesterday’s mass at the Sagrada Familia, the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics visited a prison and an abbey in the Montserrat mountain range overlooking Barcelona.
Pope Leo arrived in Spain on Saturday, opening the trip in Madrid where he delivered an unprecedented speech to the Spanish parliament and celebrated an open-air mass attended by 1.5 million people.
He has tried to revive the Church’s standing in a traditional Catholic stronghold where religious observance has fallen steeply, and has pledged that the Church will do more to confront what he called the “scourge” of sexual violence by clergy.
The pope visits the Canary Islands today and tomorrow, where immigration will be the focus as the Atlantic archipelago is a major gateway to Europe for irregular migrants.
