Barcelona's Sagrada Família nears completion for Gaudí centenary
A 172.5-metre tower will rise over Barcelona on June 10, 2026, marking 100 years since Gaudí's death and turning the unfinished basilica into a centenary spectacle.
The Sagrada Família is closing in on the finish line of its most symbolic phase, with the Tower of Jesus Christ scheduled to be inaugurated on June 10, 2026, exactly 100 years after Antoni Gaudí’s death. When complete, the central spire will rise to 172.5 metres, making the basilica the tallest church in the world and giving Barcelona a long-delayed monument with modern engineering wrapped around a 19th-century vision.
That sense of unfinished history is central to the building’s identity. Construction began in 1882, Gaudí took over the project in 1883 after the original architect, Francisco de Paula del Villar, resigned, and the temple has remained under construction for more than 140 years. The Sagrada Família Foundation describes it as a one-of-a-kind temple watched by five generations, a line of continuity that turns the basilica into both a religious site and a civic symbol in the middle of the city.
The tower itself has advanced in clear stages. It stood at 135 metres in 2023 and reached 143.5 metres in 2025, when an interior platform was installed. The final design calls for a 17-metre, four-armed cross, 13.5 metres wide, clad in white glazed ceramic and glass, to crown the structure. The current programme of works is focused on finishing the Tower of Jesus Christ and the Chapel of the Assumption, with the basilica projecting the tower’s completion in 2026.
The inauguration is set to be a major public and religious moment. The basilica plans a solemn Mass and blessing for the tower on June 10, and the Vatican schedule says Pope Leo XIV will preside, with Spanish and Catalan authorities expected to attend. To widen access, the Sagrada Família has donated 4,200 tickets for the inauguration to be distributed through local parishes, underlining how closely the building remains tied to Barcelona’s communities as well as to the church hierarchy.
The centenary programme is broader than a single ceremony. The Sagrada Família says 31 events will run from autumn 2025 through Christmas 2026, part of the Gaudí centenary and Barcelona’s designation as World Capital of Architecture 2026. More than a century after Gaudí left behind clues for the final form of the basilica, the city is still building toward his answer, one tower at a time.
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