Pope Francis celebrates completion of Sagrada Família’s central tower in Barcelona

Pope Francis (referred to as León XIV) presided over a solemn mass at the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, marking the completion of the basilica’s central tower – the Tower of Jesus – after 144 years of construction. Approximately 1,200 faithful attended, including King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, six ministers, numerous bishops, and members of the temple’s construction board such as Esteve Camps and Jordi Faulí. The Pope highlighted three core messages of his Spanish pastoral visit, urging opposition to war, protection of the innocent, and care for the suffering. He blessed the newly finished tower, visited the crypt, and prayed before Antoni Gaudí’s tomb. A blind girl, Valentina, guided the Pope through tactile models of the basilica, receiving a rosary from him. The ceremony emphasized Gaudí’s vision of the basilica as a living work of faith, with the Pope describing it as “a unique building, composed of many stones, growing constantly.”