Antoni Gaudi, Spanish architect who designed Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia, put on the path to sainthood

Antoni GaudiThe designer of the famous Basilica of Sagrada Familia de Barcada, has been put on the road to holiness by the Catholic Church, the Vatican announced on Monday.

Gaudi, nicknamed “God’s architect“For his impressive work, designing the sacred family without finishing, he was recognized by Pope Francis for his” virtual heroic “and authorized a decree decree of” venerable decree, “said the Vatican in a statement.

This recognition occurs before beatification, and the next step after is holiness.

Beatification is reserved for three categories of people: martyrs, those who have lived a life of heroic values ​​and others with a clear holy reputation.

Candidates must also be accredited with a miracle after their death, at which time they can move towards Saints.

In 2003, the Catholic Church was Veterinary Gaudi, a visionary and pious Catalan architect who died in 1926.

Two decades later, in 2023, Cardinal Juan Jose Omella, Archbishop of Barcelona, ​​commissioned a group of religious and laity to press their cause.

Gaudi, who was born in 1852, was a prolific architect whose distinctive style was characterized by freedom of form, color and texture. He worked almost completely in or near Barcelona. Seven properties built by Gaudi, including Güell Park, Güell Palacio and Sagrada Familia, are named in the Unesco World Heritage list.

Gaudi was a devout Catholic and believed that the construction of the Church was his way to make peace with God for the sins of the modern world. “60 minutes, “he reported. Basilica is expected to be Completed in 2026After more than a century.

The Sagrada Familia was enshrined in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI, racing the way for use as a place of worship.

At that time, Benedict praised “the genius of Antoni Gaudi … (who), inspired by the ardor of his Christian faith, successfully transformed this church into a praise to God made of stone.”

The signing of the decree was the first official appointment on Francis’s agenda since it was deactivated on March 23, 88 years after five weeks in the hospital that fights pneumonia that takes his life.