Sagrada Familia reaches full height after 144 years – but still isn’t finished

Barcelona's Sagrada Familia basilica is set to reach its full towering height on Friday, marking a significant milestone for Antoni Gaudí's unfinished masterpiece.

A crane is currently positioning the final section of a cross atop the "Tower of Jesus Christ," which will stand an impressive 172.5 metres (566 feet) above the Catalan capital.

Despite this architectural achievement, the basilica, already recognised as the world's tallest church, remains years away from its ultimate completion, still surrounded by cranes and scaffolding.

Construction on the Sagrada Familia commenced in 1882, a project its architect, Antoni Gaudí, never anticipated seeing finished in his lifetime. He tragically died in 1926 at the age of 73, having been struck by a tram, with only one of its numerous spires completed.

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In recent decades, work has sped up as the basilica became a major international tourist attraction with people around the world visiting Barcelona to see the monument, enthralled by Gaudí’s radical aesthetic that combines Catholic symbolism and organic forms.

The inside of the “Tower of Jesus Christ” is still being worked on. But topping the central tower, which soars above the transept, has been a priority ahead of celebrations this June that will mark the centenary of Gaudí’s death.

The scaffolding surrounding the central tower is expected to be removed by June, in time for the inauguration of the “Tower of Jesus Christ."

As Gaudí had planned, the cross has four arms so its shape can be recognised from any direction, said Sagrada Familia's rector, Rev. Josep Turull. If Barcelona’s city government will allow it, the original plan also includes a light beam shining from each of the cross’s arms, symbolizing the church’s role as a spiritual lighthouse, he added.

Millions of tourists visit the Sagrada Familia every year, and entrance fees largely fund the ongoing construction.

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This year, the Sagrada Familia will hold several events to celebrate the Catalan Modernist's legacy, which includes other stunning buildings in Barcelona and elsewhere in Spain.

The Sagrada Familia became the world's largest church last October, when it rose above the spire of Germany’s Ulmer Münster, a Gothic Lutheran church built over 347 years starting in 1543. That church tops out at 161.53 meters (530 feet).

At the base of the cross to be installed Friday afternoon at Sagrada Familia, a prayer verse is inscribed from the Gloria that Catholics recite at Mass, said Turull, the church's rector.

It reads: “You alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High.”