La Sagrada Familia's tower of Jesus inauguration act last night was a historical event for both Catholic parishioners (including Pope Leo XIV) and for art & architecture enthusiasts. After the intervention by several personalities, the Pope blessed and officially inaugurated the tower in Catalan and Spanish, an his speech was followed by the impressive show of music, light, and public cheers you can watch in its full 9-minute spectacle below:
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As it marked the exact 100th year anniversary of Antoni Gaudí's passing, the event combined the religious ceremony with a major visual tribute to the foremost representative of Catalan Modernism. After a solemn Mass attended by Spanish government members and King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, the new lighting for the temple was unveiled and a drone display against the night sky formed Gaudí's torso and his trademark quote "primer l'amor, després la tècnica" ("first love, then technique").
With the Pope now arriving in the Canary Islands and after visiting Madrid for several days, the blessing was part of his broader visit to Spain. Earlier yesterday, in Barcelona, Leo XIV visited Brians 1 prison, attended the Rosary at Montserrat Abbey, met vulnerable people in Barcelona's complicated Raval district, and travelled through the city in the popemobile before reaching the Sagrada Familia.
The Sagrada Familia official channels celebrated as follows:
"We see the tower of Jesus Christ illuminated for the first time!
The light show, starting from the base up to the illumination of the cross, culminated with a composition of lights guided by drones that traced the figure of Gaudí and the phrase 'first love, then technique'".