Sagrada Família lights up Evangelists towers in massive ceremony
Event approaches end of basilica construction, expected to finish tallest tower in 2026
Thousands of curious have decided to spend their Sunday evening next to one of the most important buildings in Barcelona. The unfinished Sagrada Família basilica has prepared an event for this night to light up, for the first time, the Evangelists towers in a massive ceremony.
The event is so important that Sagrada Família has been organizing several events throughout this and last weekend. On Saturday, there was a display of castellers human towers next to the building's doors, but Sunday was the big day.
At 5:30 pm, a mass service marked the start of the event, which finished at 7 pm, when the towers lit up after a short blessing.
A lot of people gathered around the basilica to see the end result of the Towers of Mark, Luke, Matthew, and John, the four Evangelists. On top of these towers is a sculpture of a Lion, representing Matthew, an Ox for Mark, a Man for Luke, and an Eagle for John; these last two were recently installed.
With the ceremony, Sagrada Família is fast approaching the end of the construction works, however, this end will still take some more years. Now, there are only five towers left to be built, the main one dedicated to Jesus Christ and four on the Glory façade, which generates a lot of controversy among residents.
Works of the church started in 1882, and there is no date in sight for the end of the works, but the plan is to finish the tallest tower, Jesus ChristTower, in 2026, marking the 100th anniversary of architect Antoni Gaudí's death.
On top of the tower, which will be 172.5 meters tall, there will be a large cross which will serve as a viewpoint of Barcelona. This will be the tallest building in the Catalan capital.
Currently, Hotel Arts and Mapfre Tower are the tallest buildings in the city, measuring 154 meters in height.
Four towers, three different parts
The four Evangelist towers are clearly marked, as Gaudí had planned in the XIXth century, with statues of Matthew, Luke, Mark, and John.
These towers have been divided into three different parts: the shaft, the icosahedron, where workers place lightbulbs to light up Jesus Christ tower, and the tetramorph, where the statues of animals, the books with the initials of each Evangelist, and wings are placed.
These are elements that have been used by art and Christianity to represent the four preachers, all of which are at a height of 135 meters.
"On top of the four Evangelist towers, architect Antoni Gaudí wanted the tetramorph, the historic and traditional Christian representation of the four Evangelists," Jordi Faulí, Sagrada Família head architect, said to Catalan News last year.
Gaudí wanted the Sagrada Família basilica to be a clear connection between God and nature, which is why there are hundreds of small details relating to both worlds.