Before reaching the Sagrada Família, Pope Leo XIV visited the Brians 1 prison and prayed the Rosary at the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat, a Benedictine monastic complex some 50 km from Barcelona, which houses the statue of the Virgin of Montserrat, also known as La Moreneta, proclaimed Patroness of Catalonia in 1881 by Pope Leo XIII. He then took part in a meeting with representatives of diocesan charitable and welfare organisations at the Church of Sant Agustí.

From there, the Pontiff proceeded to the Sagrada Família, where “everything is providential”, as Antoni Gaudí, “God’s architect”, was wont to say. These words aptly describe the soul of this imposing work with its 18 towers, a veritable figurative catechesis, an expression of a faith that takes the form of stone and shapes, textures and colours, light and the depth of space.

During Mass, Pope Leo XIV once again issued a call for peace and hospitality, emphasising that those who believe cannot kill the innocent nor “abandon those who suffer, those who weep, those who flee from misery”.

“We cannot believe in Jesus and wage war. We cannot believe in Jesus and kill the innocent. We cannot believe in Jesus and abandon those who suffer, those who weep, those who flee from misery” 

Then, greeting King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, who welcomed him alongside Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, as well as the political and ecclesiastical authorities, the Pope highlighted that this Basilica opens “its doors like wide-open arms to invite everyone to this altar, to listen to the word of God, which makes us a family loved by the Lord, nourished by his very life in the Eucharist”. In the ciutat comtal of Barcelona, the whole of Catalonia looks up to encounter, in this temple “a sign of unity and harmony”, the face of God.

After Mass, Pope Leo XIV then opened the Tower of Jesus, the new tower that makes the Sagrada Família the tallest church in the world at 172.5 metres. A record that is not intended as a sign of competition but as a powerful spiritual reference in a society eroded by rampant secularism.

The project was presented by Valentina, a blind girl, one of the most surprising new features of the event. The girl described to the Pope her experience of ‘looking’ up towards the top of the Tower. She did so by sharing her sensations as she touched a model of the tower itself.

The initiative came from the ONCE association (Organización Nacional de Ciegos de España), Spain’s leading organisation in support of the blind. The girl, invited by the Queen to describe the architectural design, traced it with an upward movement and revealed its details, highlighting Gaudí’s inspirational motifs.

When Mass had concluded, the procession of concelebrants then made its way towards the external gallery via the staircase of the Nativity façade, facing east towards the rising sun. From here, from that perspective which expresses the joy of life, one could admire a spectacle of absolute wonder. Around 120,000 people watched from the surrounding areas and along the route on giant screens, whilst 9,000 faithful attended Mass, both inside and outside the basilica. From a platform in front of the tribune, the Pope, in the presence of the principal authorities, then officially blessed the tower, where, inside the cross, hangs the Agnus Dei, a work by the Italian sculptor Andrea Mastrovito.

From Barcelona, the Pontiff will now travel to the Canary Islands, the final leg of his journey. This is a stop strongly desired by Pope Leo, who wishes to show his closeness to the people of these islands which, from being a tourist destination par excellence, have become, within the space of five years, the scene of migration tragedies with the arrival of thousands of people along the infamous ‘Atlantic Route’.