Gaudí Declared Venerable as Sagrada Família Exterior Nears Completion After 144 Years

Pope Francis authorised a decree in April 2025 naming Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí "venerable," the first major step toward canonisation. Beatification, the next stage, requires evidence of heroic virtue, a holy reputation and an attributed miracle. The exterior of Gaudí's Sagrada Família basilica in Barcelona was completed this summer after 144 years of construction, and the building draws steady pilgrimages alongside his Casa Vicens and Casa Milà. Religion writer Peter Stanford argues Gaudí is too complex a figure for sainthood, saying the designation "puts him in too small a box" and that "his imagination knew no boundaries." Gaudí, a lifelong bachelor and devout Catholic who undertook long fasts, died in 1926 after being struck by a tram while walking to church. Monocle editor in chief Andrew Tuck wrote the piece.