Dr. Guillermo Simón Castellví
Guillermo Simón Castellví, Member of the Royal Academy of Medicine of Catalonia, Member of the Spanish Society of Ophthalmology and the World Federation of Catholic Medical Associations, and collaborator of the Royal European Academy of Doctors (READ), shares with the academic community a photo gallery he published on October 31 in the digital newspaper El Debate, documenting the beginning of the installation of the great cross that will crown the Tower of Jesus Christ at Barcelona’s Sagrada Família basilica. Once completed, the structure will reach 172.5 meters in height and is expected to be finished during 2026, marking the completion of the basilica’s construction after more than a century.
As journalist Guillermo Altarriba explains in the accompanying article, the first piece of the cross—its lower arm, which serves as its support—was installed on October 30, an event captured in detail by Simón Castellví’s photographs. “It stands 7.25 meters tall and weighs 24 tons. It will form part of a spectacular four-armed structure, similar to other crosses designed by Antoni Gaudí, such as those atop Casa Batlló and Torre Bellesguard. The cross will be covered in glazed white ceramic and glass, so it will gleam in the sunlight,” the text notes.
Altarriba further details that the cross will ultimately measure 17 meters in height and 13.5 meters in width, featuring a double-twist geometry—the same design Gaudí used for the basilica’s columns—so that its base begins as a square and transitions into an octagon at the top. “According to the basilica’s technical team, the piece arrived last July divided into four panels, which were placed on a work platform 54 meters above the central nave. There, it was assembled, and the glass and interior elements were installed,” adds the journalist.
The gallery captures, with both precision and splendor, the key moments of the installation of the cross’s base—from its slow and careful ascent to the tower, under the watchful gaze of the sculptural representations crowning the four lower towers of the Evangelists, to its exact positioning by specialized workers. “Once completed, the cross will serve as an observation point, although the project directors emphasize that it is not intended merely as a tourist lookout, but as a place for spiritual elevation—a space to draw closer to God, to contemplate the work of creation and humankind, whom Jesus invited to love as brothers. Inside, as envisioned by Gaudí, will be installed a sculpture of the Agnus Dei—the Lamb of God—created by Italian artist Andrea Mastrovito,” continues the report.
Altarriba concludes by outlining the schedule now guiding the Sagrada Família Construction Board, whose Board of Trustees includes Juan Trias de Bes, Director of the hARQware Platform Chair at the School of Architecture of the International University of Catalonia and Numerary Member of the READ. “The builders’ goal is for the Tower of Jesus Christ to be blessed and inaugurated in June 2026, to coincide with the centenary of Antoni Gaudí’s death. Pope Leo XIV has been invited to participate in this event, given Gaudí’s profound connection with the Catholic faith: shortly before his death, Pope Francis declared the Catalan architect a Venerable Servant of God, thereby initiating his cause for beatification,” concludes the journalist.
