Published on
11/06/2026 - 10:30 GMT+2
The spectacular inauguration of the latest major tower of the Sagrada Familia turned Barcelona on Wednesday into the stage for a historic celebration. Thousands of people packed the streets around the basilica designed by Antoni Gaudí to attend a ceremony marked by emotion and music, a drone show, and an impressive display of lights and fireworks that illuminated the city's most emblematic monument.
The ceremony was presided over by Pope Leo XIV, who celebrated a special Mass to mark the centenary of Gaudí's death – he devoted more than four decades of his life to designing and building the basilica – and blessed the new Tower of Jesus Christ, the tallest of the basilica's spires and the one that has turned the Sagrada Familia into the tallest church in the world.
Some 120,000 people gathered in the streets around the basilica, where a large security operation was deployed due to the presence of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, as well as the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez.
