SOCIETY
Pope Benedict consecrates Barcelona`s Sagrada Familia
Baku, November 7 (AZERTAC). Pope Benedict XVI has consecrated Antoni Gaudi`s unfinished church, the Sagrada Familia, as a basilica in the Spanish city of Barcelona.
The Pope sprinkled holy water on the altar before a congregation of more than 6,500 people.
Gaudi`s greatest work has been under construction for more than a century, and will not be finished before 2026.
The current chief architect said he hoped the Pope`s visit would provide the boost needed to finish the work.
It is currently funded by private donations and visitors` fees.
"He will bring a message of spirituality and it`s a stimulus to finish the work," Jordi Bonet Armengol told Reuters before the consecration ceremony.
"The building shows that through art we can achieve spirituality that people need so much."
Following the consecration, the main nave is now open for daily Mass for the first time.
Work began on Barcelona`s Sagrada Familia (Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family) in 1882, based on a design by Francesc de Paula Villar, who envisioned a simple church in a traditional neo-Gothic style.
But after he resigned in 1883, Gaudi was appointed the lead architect and redesigned the church entirely. His imaginative plans included 18 spires and five naves, rich with decorated organic detailing.
He once said it was an expression of "the divine history of the salvation of man through Christ incarnate, given to the world by the Virgin Mary".
In 1911, the devout Catholic devoted himself entirely to the project, and spent the next 15 years living and working on site as a virtual recluse, supervising work. He died in 1926, after being run over by a tram.
Already a Unesco world heritage site visited by millions, it will become the world`s tallest church when the 170m (560ft) central tower is erected.
In preparation for the Pope`s visit, workers covered the central nave and installed stained-glass windows.