Every time a Pope sets foot in Barcelona, there is one point that inevitably concentrates the image of the trip: the Sagrada Familia. A centrality that is not explained only because this is the most recognized and photographed monument in the city, nor because it is already the tallest Christian church in the world. In reality, this centrality is explained, as expressed by Pope Leo XIV, through a powerful image: the Tower of Jesus and the Sagrada Familia act as an "open lighthouse to the Mediterranean". This is how the pontiff described it in the mass that commemorated the centenary of the death of Antoni Gaudí, whom he referred to as "venerable architect of God," and in the blessing of the Tower of Jesus, two of the central moments of his visit.
For the pontiff, the Sagrada Familia is, therefore, an open lighthouse to the Mediterranean that projects Barcelona outwards as an architectural icon and, at the same time, concentrates all eyes inwards, contributing to building the city's narrative. But, beyond this double reading —symbolic and architectural, from inside and out—, for the Pope this image also takes on a spiritual dimension. With the culmination of the Tower of Jesus —which the Sagrada Familia erected last February 20, but which was not blessed until the pontiff's visit—, Leo XIV highlighted that "the basilica has already become the tallest church in the world, not to stand out in any worldly ranking, but to guide those who pilgrimage in Christian values."
And perhaps it is the sum of all these readings that converge in the image of the Sagrada Familia as a lighthouse —the international symbolism, the spiritual dimension, and the architectural icon— that explain why Leo XIV has chosen Barcelona as one of the first destinations of his pontificate, and also why this temple has been the reason for all the last papal trips to the State.
He did so with John Paul II in 1982 and with Benedict XVI in 2010. And it has also reappeared as a common thread in the visit of Pope Leo XIV, on a journey that began in Madrid and continues today towards the Canary Islands, with a main purpose: to attend the centenary mass of Antoni Gaudí and bless the Tower of Jesus. A trip that has involved an investment of 25 million euros —45% contributed by private companies— and that, for a few hours, seemed to paralyze the Catalan capital, with massive events and an extensive security deployment, also amidst critical voices due to the impact on mobility and urban life.
As a beacon that has guided (and motivated) the Pope's visit, the Sagrada Familia has also been the center of the discourse in the mass in memory of Gaudí, where he highlighted that "more than a monument, it is a work in progress that reminds us how Christian life is always a path that must be built," the pontiff affirmed.
And he added: "We do not inhabit an unfinished work, but a temple under construction. Its imperfection is not a lack, but a promise of the future." He affirmed this in a homily before the authorities present —King Felipe and Queen Letizia, the President of the Government Pedro Sánchez and the President of the Generalitat Salvador Illa, along with several councilors or the mayor of Barcelona Jaume Collboni—, as well as nearly 200 bishops from different dioceses, the members of the Construction Board and a choir of 600 voices that set the pace of the ceremony.
The celebration began with the pontiff's access to the basilica through the Main Portal, the door of the Glory facade that had not been opened for 16 years, when Benedict XVI entered in 2010. From this initial moment, Leo XIV wanted to set the tone of the day with one of the central messages of his trip: the rejection of violence —"we cannot believe in Jesus and wage war, nor abandon those who suffer," he recalled—.
Look up to the sky
The homily has progressed until culminating with the blessing of the Tower of Jesus, with which the temple reaches its highest point, becoming the urban summit of the city, without surpassing Montjuïc, in coherence with Gaudí's will not to exceed nature, which he considered God's work.
This Tower of Jesus, understood as a lighthouse in the Mediterranean, follows Gaudí's indications and has been explained, before the act began, with precision by Valentina, a 13-year-old girl with visual impairment who has traced and described the model: a glass cross designed so that, by day, it reflects sunlight and, by night, projects rays of light over the city. A cross that, starting in 2028, will be visitable and will act as a viewpoint of Barcelona and an observation point for the Agnus Dei that will hang from the center of the tower.
Therefore, although Gaudí's original project for this Tower of Jesus is not yet completed, the blessing has symbolically anticipated this horizon. Already tonight, for the first time, the tower has illuminated the city after a spectacle of lights, fires, and drones that closed the ceremony. With this spectacle —solemn but emotional— the Pope has ended his visit to the Catalan capital, in a faithful ending to the motto that has structured the entire visit: "Lift your gaze."
A gesture that has been repeated throughout the two days. It is the first thing the pontiff did upon arriving at the Sagrada Familia: raise his gaze, a movement also shared by the authorities present.
But this same gesture has spread among all attendees at the event: from inside the temple, with the lit lanterns that accompanied the spectacle, to Gaudí Square and the surrounding streets, such as Gaudí Avenue, the Glòries screen —where a large crowd gathered to follow the homily— or Sardenya Street. In all these points, the scene was repeated: silence, expectation, and raised gazes to follow the progressive illumination of the basilica, with fireworks as the grand finale. A silence only interrupted by the choir, applause, and the sound of mobile phones, also raised to capture the moment —which even the security agents deployed in the area did not miss, some of whom also took the opportunity to immortalize the first lighting of the Jesus Tower—.
Mobile phones also recorded the last elements of the spectacle: a figure made with drones that reproduced Gaudí's face and a phrase projected in the sky, also with drones, that synthesized his architectural legacy: "First love, then technique." With this message, the event was declared closed, while the Jesus Tower remained completely illuminated, transformed into the city's great architectural and symbolic lighthouse and the visual axis of the papal visit.
"May this lamp illuminate your path," resonated the narrator's voice in the final stretch of the ceremony, which concluded with the placement of the commemorative plaque of the moment on the Nativity facade, next to the one that recalls the visit of Benedict XVI, when he blessed the basilica as a place of worship.
Between the drones and the lighting, the images also revealed an element that reminds us that the Sagrada Familia has not yet culminated Gaudí's dream: the cranes. A constant presence that has been part of Barcelona's skyline for decades, and that reminds us that, although the Jesus Tower has already brought the basilica to its highest point, the work is still not finished, 144 years after the laying of the first stone.
The deadlines have been extended —the pandemic delayed the planned schedule— and the Construction Board now places the end of the works, at a minimum, around 2035. By then, the project will have to resolve architectural challenges such as the Glory façade or the complex access staircase to the temple, which continues to generate debate. It remains to be seen if this horizon will be met and if Barcelona will once again be the scene of a new papal visit to celebrate the culmination of the temple.
A journey through the crowd
The Sagrada Familia, however, has not been the only common thread of Pope Leo XIV's second day in the Catalan capital.
The trip has been marked by multitudinous events, with the aim not only of maintaining an institutional character, but also of becoming a meeting place. In this context, one of the most outstanding moments on the pontiff's agenda has been the journey in the popemobile along Rosselló street, from Passeig de Gràcia to the basilica. Along the way, some 120,000 people waited for him on the street, with the presence of families with babies and groups that arrived hours earlier to secure a good spot. Many spent the time prepared for a long wait: with food and water, folding chairs, binoculars, caps or sweaters as time went on, and also with Uno cards, Rubik's cubes or even rubber bands to make bracelets while they waited.
Flags of all colors, scarves, children's drawings, banners and even a reproduction of the Pope made with balloons filled the kilometer-long route that the popemobile traversed. During the journey, the pontiff greeted attendees, addressed young people with the popular "Six Seven" gesture and blessed some babies, while the crowd chanted slogans such as "Pope Leo, we love you a lot." It was only a few seconds, but many faithful experienced the moment intensely, to the point that some ran alongside the vehicle to try to cross glances with the Pope again.
Among the attendees, there have even been unexpected encounters: like that of three women from Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela, of three different generations, who were waiting for him alone and ended up seeing him together, while assuring that "the Pope unites countries in many ways." Among the crowd there were also tourists who, recently arrived in the city, stumbled upon the event while walking and decided to join it, considering it "a historic moment." Others, suitcases in hand and disoriented, asked how to cross to the other side of the street to reach their accommodation just on the other side of the security device.
Neighbors and merchants have experienced the day between joy —with shops closing for a few minutes to see the Pope pass, or bars symbolically inviting him to a potato omelet sandwich—, resignation, and also criticism for the paralysis of the city. The visit has caused significant alterations in mobility, with stations like Sagrada Familia closed, bus lines diverted, and intense traffic throughout the day. In parallel, a large security operation has been deployed, with up to 5,600 agents, most of them concentrated in the Popemobile's route, where they have turned and sealed trash cans and checked the sewage system.
The gaze of the witnesses
But the Pope has also dedicated part of the day to more intimate and close acts, where the gaze no longer rose to the sky —as in the blessing of the Tower of Jesus—, but remained at eye level, in direct contact with the witnesses who addressed him: from inmates Josefina and Montserrat in front of about eighty inmates in Can Brians prison, to social entities in the parish of Sant Agustí, a space he remembers having visited the temple in 1984, but at that time it was closed.
Decades later, now as the highest representative of the Church, the parish has been the scene of one of the most emotional moments of the day: the intervention of Renzo, a six-year-old boy, who read a letter full of innocence, asking questions like if he liked football, if as a child he already knew he wanted to be Pope or why there are so many people suffering on the street. The ninety entities present also had the opportunity to give him gifts and brief conversations, in an atmosphere in which, according to one of the volunteers from the Terral association, "a look of empathy and understanding was noticeable, as if the Pope tried to dedicate a few seconds to each one."
"I feel at home," the pontiff confessed at this meeting. Perhaps also because Leo XIV maintains a special bond with another of the day's spaces: Montserrat, where he had been before and where he prayed before the Moreneta —as John Paul II also did on his visit to Catalonia—. Towards noon, he arrived in the popemobile from the Mirador de los Apóstoles to the entrance of the monastery, and participated in the prayer of the Holy Rosary in the Basilica of Santa María.
In his speech, he wanted to reiterate the welcoming role of the territory: "Thanks to Catalonia for having received so many people from other countries; this teaches how to integrate into a single human family," he affirmed, alternating Catalan and Spanish, as he has done in the rest of the events. All, while a soundtrack that has accompanied the Pope throughout his visit was repeated: the Escolania de Montserrat and El Virolai.