Marie Gicquel and AFP/Photo credits: JOSEP LAGO / AFP
The famous Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona celebrated in light on Sunday the end of the construction of the Evangelist Towers with which the monument is moving towards the end of its construction initiated 141 years ago. The last two of these four 135 meter high towers, those dedicated to the evangelists Matthew and John, were completed at the end of September, with the installation of the immense white figures in the shape of a human bust and an eagle which crown them respectively.
The other two, dedicated to the evangelists Luke and Mark, and topped with figures of an ox and a lion, were completed last year. The remarkable basilica designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí thus completes the ensemble dedicated to the evangelists, which will be the third tallest towers of the church once completed.
The people of Barcelona are enthusiastic about the progress of the cathedral: “It’s wonderful to be there to experience this moment and to be able to inaugurate the four towers of the evangelists”, declares a resident. “Five little things added, it’s a lot of emotion,” adds a Barcelona resident.
Architect Jordi Fauli is at the helm of this pharaonic project. He spoke in 2021 about the plans for these famous towers: “Gaudí had fixed the position and height of the towers. Their design was carried out with architects who studied the project very closely so that the construction of these towers was precise “.
A project completed in ten years
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 in 2021 of the Tower of Mary which, with its 138 meters, will be the second tallest in the basilica once completed, and of the Evangelists’ complex, all that remains is to complete the Tower of Jesus Christ for the main relief.
Designed by Gaudí to be the highest point of the Sagrada Família, at 172.5 meters, the builders plan to complete the Tower of Christ in 2026, a date which coincides with the centenary of the architect’s death.
The basilica construction committee had initially announced the full completion of the basilica by 2026, but the Covid-19 pandemic slowed down the project. “If we don’t have a major problem like the pandemic, the Sagrada Família will be finished in ten years maximum,” the president of its board of directors, Esteve Camps, told the local newspaper on Sunday La Vanguardia.