Barcelona celebrated a historic milestone with the inauguration of the Jesus Tower at the Sagrada Familia, the monumental masterpiece envisioned by Antoni Gaudí more than a century ago and now finally completed.
In a ceremony attended by King Felipe, Pope Leo XIV led the solemn consecration and delivered a powerful message on peace and human dignity.
"We cannot believe in Jesus and wage war, kill the innocent, or abandon those who suffer and flee from poverty," the Pope said during his homily.
Marking the centenary of Gaudí's death, the Pontiff paid tribute to the Catalan architect, describing him as "an architect burning with faith" who transformed stone, light, and colour into a remarkable visual catechism and a tool for evangelisation.
Now standing as the tallest church in the world, the Sagrada Familia should not, according to the Pope, be viewed as a worldly achievement but as a spiritual beacon for the people of God.
Despite the inauguration, construction work on the basilica is not yet entirely complete. Far from seeing this as a flaw, Pope Leo embraced it as a symbol of the Christian journey.
"Christian life is always a path," he said. "We do not inhabit an unfinished work, but a temple still under construction, whose very imperfection is a promise."