From the desk of the Tar Heel disciple:
June 13, 2026 (#106)
The Popes and the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona
On Wednesday, June 10th, 2026, Pope Leo XIV visited the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) in Barcelona Spain, where he celebrated Mass and blessed the newly finished Tower of Jesus Christ, which made this unusual church the tallest church in the world. He will also commemorate the centenary of the death of Antoni Gaudi, the principal architect of the church. In some sense, he follows in the footsteps of his predecessors, Pope St. John Paul II, who, on November 7, 1982, prayed the Angelus with the faithful assembled outside the then partially constructed church, and Pope Benedict XVI, who, on November 7, 2010, solemnly dedicated (consecrated) the church and altar. During that same liturgy, he also officially designated the church as a minor basilica.
In modern times, it is rare for a pope to consecrate a church, especially outside of Italy. In doing so, Pope Benedict was calling attention to the purpose of a Catholic church building, the nature of the Catholic Church itself, which is the Body of Christ, and the holiness of the architect of this church, Gaudi. The homily preached by the Holy Father on that occasion was a masterpiece of theology and devotion and deserves a wider reading than it may have received to date. It makes for worthy and fruitful spiritual meditation and might help to explain why he and two other popes, including the current one, to have made this particular church a place of papal pilgrimage:
