More than 140 years after the start of construction, the Sagrada Familia illuminates its new towers

The famous Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona celebrated on Sunday, November 12, in light the completion of the Evangelist Towers, with which the monument is moving toward the end of its construction that began 141 years ago.

The last two of these four towers, 135 meters high, those dedicated to the evangelists Matthew and John, were completed at the end of September, with the installation of huge white figures in the form of a human bust and an eagle crowning them. . The other two, dedicated to the evangelists Luke and Mark, with figures of an ox and a lion on top, were completed last year. The extraordinary basilica designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí thus completes the ensemble dedicated to the Evangelists, which will be the third highest towers of the church after completion.

To celebrate the event, the Archbishop of Barcelona, ​​Juan José Omella, blessed these structures located in the central part of the basilica on Sunday afternoon, which were then illuminated for the first time. After the completion of Mary’s tower, which with its 138 meters will be the second tallest in the basilica in 2021, and the evangelist complex, all that remains is to complete the Tower of Jesus Christ for the main relief. . Designed by Gaudí as the highest point of the Sagrada Família, at 172.5 meters, builders plan to complete the Tower of Christ in 2026, a date that coincides with the centenary of the architect’s death.

Read alsoIn Barcelona, ​​the four towers of the Sagrada Familia dedicated to the Evangelists have finally been completed

The Basilica Construction Committee initially announced the full completion of the basilica by 2026, but the Covid-19 pandemic has slowed the project. “If we don’t have a big problem like a pandemic, the Sagrada Família will be finished in no more than ten years“, the president of its management board, Esteve Camps, told the local newspaper La Vanguardia on Sunday.