Pope Leo XIV closed his stay in Barcelona, the second leg of the visit to our country, with the blessing of the Tower of Jesus, the tallest of the Sagrada Família. In this solemn ceremony, which coincided with the centenary of Antoni Gaudí’s death, the Kings of Spain were once again present. Letizia wore white once again, a privilege reserved for only six Catholic queens worldwide.
This was the third meeting of Felipe and Letizia with the pontiff since his arrival in Spain, and in all three we have seen the Asturian dressed in white. Upon arriving at the Sagrada Família, the Kings of Spain were received by Salvador Illa, president of the Generalitat, and Pedro Sánchez, president of the Government. The entourage welcomed Leo XIV, who arrived in his papamóvil, and together they toured the exterior of the church before the start of the Mass.
“It is a temple that constitutes us into a family loved by the Lord, fed by its own life in the Eucharist. This is how the City of Barcelona and all of Catalonia come together in this temple, also a sign of unity and concord,” the Pope assured during the homily on Antoni Gaudí’s most iconic work, whom he described as “the architect of God”.
Before 8,000 people, alternating Catalan and Spanish, the pontiff, the American, added that, despite being “a temple still under construction, this imperfection does not signify a lack, but expresses a promise we want to honor with coherence.” Afterward, Leo XIV descended to the crypt where Gaudí’s remains rest, prayed before his tomb and lit a candle in his memory.
The Queen Letizia and the most emotional gesture
Before the Mass began, one of the day’s most talked-about and emotional moments took place. Valentina, a blind girl, was entrusted with explaining to Leo XIV and the Kings the details of the new Tower of Jesus Christ at the Sagrada Família. The thirteen-year-old girl was born with Leber’s disease and can only distinguish lights and shadows.
The Kings of Spain welcome Leo XIV upon his arrival at the Sagrada Família.
Valentina used a tactile relief model of the tower, designed to be explored by hand, for the explanation. “People can have mental images through touch about things,” the girl said, receiving grateful looks from the illustrious visitors. After listening carefully to her words, Queen Letizia gave her a warm hug and brought her closer to her husband so that he could bid her farewell with a handshake as well.
As a gesture of thanks, Leo XIV gave Valentina a rosary, just as he did in Madrid with Queen Sofía and her grandchildren. “I will always keep it, thank you very much,” was the moved reply from the young girl to the Pope’s gesture. Valentina, in turn, presented the pontiff with a drawing she herself had made of the Tower of Jesus Christ.
A date with history
Antoni Gaudí died on June 10, 1926, leaving his great work unfinished. Yesterday, his face was drawn in the Barcelona sky in a show of lights and drones after Leo XIV blessed the Tower of Jesus Christ, sprinkling holy water with the aspergillum. Amid applause, this 172.5-meter-high tower was lit for the first time, making the Sagrada Família the tallest church in the world.
“With a grateful heart, let us praise God, inaugurating the new tower of this basilica on the centenary of the death of the venerable Antoni Gaudí,” were the Pope’s words. Next, accompanied by the Archbishop of Barcelona, Cardinal Juan José Omella, and in the presence of kings Felipe and Letizia, Leo XIV unveiled on the Nativity façade a commemorative plaque of this visit.
