BARCELONA – The Sagrada Familia basilica, with its intricate sandcastle-like spires and stonework that mimics lush flora, stands as a marvel of architectural wonder. Inside, a kaleidoscope of colors and a trove of treasures, some cleverly hidden, captivate both tourists and regular worshippers, leaving them in awe at this iconic Barcelona landmark.
Josep Turull, the Catalan rector charged with overseeing the parish activities of the Sagrada Familia, recently provided The Associated Press with an exclusive tour. This special glimpse was a prelude to Pope Leo XIV’s much-anticipated Mass scheduled for Wednesday night, and Turull was eager to share his favorite hidden gems within the basilica.
“The Sagrada Familia Basilica is a place of endless discovery,” Turull remarked. “Even after eight years as its rector, I find something new every day.”
Exploring the basilica’s façades, Turull begins each day confronting a tapestry of religious scenes and symbols. While many are familiar to those with a basic grasp of Christianity, others are enigmatic, even startling when found in a church setting.
The Passion Façade, facing westward, is particularly striking with its stark and tormented figures posed in angular, strained positions. This was the vision of architect Antoni Gaudí, who intended the façade to be “harsh and cruel, as if made of bones,” capturing the agony and suffering of Christ’s final days.
The westward-looking Façade of the Passion is stark, its figures tormented, their bodies strained in angular poses. That was how architect Antoni Gaudí wanted it — “harsh and cruel, as if made of bones,” to show the pain and torment of Christ’s final days.
Decades after Gaudí’s own death, sculptor Josep Subirachs tempered the façade’s misery with some playful elements. There’s Gaudí himself, above the central door, staring across at Jesus carrying his cross to Calvary. And what’s that suduko-like numbered grid next to Judas kissing Jesus before his betrayal?
The “magic square” symbolizes the inevitability of Christ’s death; adding the numbers in any direction always produces 33, Jesus’s age at his crucifixion.
Another puzzle awaits the patient eye that drifts across to the scene of Peter denying Christ: a small, square-shaped labyrinth. Turull said that it alludes to the need to keep faith in God when we feel lost.
2. The tower tops hold cornucopias and real birds of prey
After celebrating Mass, Leo will step outside to offer a blessing for the Tower of Jesus Christ that made the Sagrada Familia the world’s tallest church when it was raised in October.
The basilica’s heights are bursting with nature, from the rooster who crowed while Peter denied Christ to reptiles doing the job of gargoyles, and piles of fruit that crown its spires.
There are also flesh-and-blood beasts; a family of peregrine falcons nest in the tower dedicated to St. James, keeping away pigeons and, more importantly, their excrement.
Gaudí’s masterpiece was chosen as one of the ideal spots to reintroduce the species, as it was one of the last locations in town where these birds nested before disappearing during the 1970’s. The falcons have been breeding successfully at the basilica for over two decades.
Turull said that these lightning-fast birds of prey “recover the cycle of natural life.”
3. The tour goes underground to find Gaudí’s crypt
For the millions of annual visitors who admire the colored light filtering through the basilica’s stained-glass windows, jostle for position to snap selfies and huddle around tour guides, it is easy to overlook what Turull calls its “spiritual heart.” That requires going through a modest side entrance and descending a staircase.
Underground is a much smaller, more intimate chapel, where dozens of worshippers silently attend Mass and faith manages to keep sightseeing at bay.
Fittingly, it is here where Gaudí, a fervent Catholic, rests in a discreet tomb set inside a nook. He died exactly 100 years ago to the day when he was hit by a streetcar.
“People come to ask for his intercession,” Turull said, gesturing to the tomb interred in the floor. “That’s why there are so many candles. Because people place their trust in him. Many people have received favors for having prayed at the tomb of Gaudí.”
The Vatican is in the midst of a decades-long process that could eventually make Gaudí a saint. After Pope Francis named Gaudí “venerable” in 2025, the Vatican must now confirm a miracle attributed to his intercession for him to be beatified, then a second miracle for him to be canonized.
The basilica has proposed that the pope pray at Gaudí’s tomb during his visit, but whether he does remains to be seen.
4. A seashell for holy water
Before ascending, Turull pauses at an enormous seashell — a real one, not made of stone — that serves as a basin for holy water. He said that Gaudí had the seashell from the Philippines set in wrought iron and fixed to the column.
“Gaudí always takes nature as an example,” Turull said, referencing the way the natural world inspired his designs and decorations.
5. A changing room fit for a pope
Up a twisting staircase, a private room bathed in sunlight houses two freestanding oak cabinets laced with intricate ironwork. Designed by Gaudí, they hold the basilica’s most precious relics and most important clerical clothing. Among them is Pope Benedict XVI’s chasuble — a cloak that clergy wear when celebrating Mass — from when he consecrated the Sagrada Familia in 2010.
This is where Pope Leo will change into a chasuble that is being sewn at a workshop just for this occasion.
Turull said the vestment will feature details symbolizing the day’s importance and a design related to the basilica’s recently raised Cross of Jesus Christ. But he won’t say anything more for now; some things need to stay secret.
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AP videojournalist Hernán Muñoz contributed to this report.
