In the second week of June, Pope Leo XIV made his first papal visit to Spain on a six-day journey to Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands. One of the key moments of his visit was a solemn mass, celebrated to inaugurate and bless the recently finished Tower of Jesus Christ, the highest element of the structure, which officially makes the Sagrada Família the tallest church in the world at 172.5m.

The date, June 10, was no accident, as it marked the centenary of the death of its architect, Antoni Gaudí, who took over just a year after the foundation stone was laid in 1882. From that moment, Gaudí’s professional and personal life were inextricably linked with the Sagrada Família, to the point that from 1914 onward he decided not to take other commissions. He moved into a small workshop on the site and worked obsessively on the project until his death.

Most of Gaudí’s buildings were designed and completed during his work at the Sagrada Família. His two other most famous and visited works, Casa Milà (1906 to 1912) and Park Güell(1900 to 1914), represent the peak of the architect’s career and together with the Sagrada Família describe Gaudí’s singular universe at three very different scales. All three are must-see visits in Barcelona but, like the Sagrada Família, one should expect long queues and overcrowded spaces throughout 2026, as all sorts of events, symposiums and one-off exhibitions have........

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