Barcelona’s iconic basilica of the Sagrada Familia now has all but one of its planned 18 towers completed, with two newest completed in September and lit up last Sunday with a blessing by Barcelona’s Archbishop.
The two new towers, dedicated to the evangelist saints Matthew and John join the two completed last year dedicated to Saints Luke and Mark. Now, only the final and tallest tower, dedicated to Jesus, remains to be completed; officials say it will be completed by 2026, the hundredth anniversary of the death of the church’s designer, Antoni Gaudi.
The evangelist towers are 135 meters (435 feet high); only the tower devoted to the Virgin Mary and the Jesus tower, which will reach 172 meters and be topped with a giant cross, are taller.
The project has been under construction for 141 years, with many stops and starts. Major work has moved forward fairly quickly in recent years, although the Covid pandemic pushed back the original plan to have everything completed by 2026. The project leaders now promise that everything will be done within the next ten years.
