Sagrada Família’s Worldly Triumph: A Monument to Modernist Apostasy
Portal Vatican News (November 4, 2025) reports the completion of the central tower of the Basilica of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, Spain, which now stands as the “tallest church in the world” at 162.91 meters. The article celebrates the installation of a 24-ton cross component and anticipates the tower reaching 172 meters by 2026, coinciding with the centenary of architect Antoni Gaudí’s death. The report emphasizes the technical achievement while detailing historical setbacks, including Gaudí’s death in 1926 with only one tower completed, anarchist destruction during the Spanish Civil War, and recent delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and funding shortages tied to tourism declines.









