Barcelona Church Under Construction for 141 Years Finally Gets its 4 Towers–Named Matthew, Mark, Luke, John

[Michie]

It’s one of the most famous buildings in Europe: partly because it isn’t finished yet more than 100 years since it was started.

Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona is just a few years away from completion, however, as the towers of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John have been fully erected. When the ultimate tower is finished—slated for 2026—the building will be finished, 144 years after it was started.

The original designer, Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi, wanted the facade to contain 16 spindly towers which would each be dedicated to a biblical figure: 12 for the apostles, 4 for the evangelists, one for Mary, and one for Jesus.

It was last Wednesday that the final sculptural element was placed on the tower of Matthew, and the day after that, John’s tower was crowned with an eagle.

The basilica celebrated the triumph on Facebook.

Continued below.

Barcelona Church Under Construction for 141 Years Finally Gets its 4 Towers–Named Matthew, Mark, Luke, John

Now only the tower of Jesus remains unfinished, and when the scaffolding is finally pulled down it will be the tallest cathedral in Europe.

www.goodnewsnetwork.org

 

[Wolseley]

My Uncle Bernie, who spent most of World War II slogging through Europe as an infantryman, told me this story:

His unit entered a French town one day (I don't remember which one it was---a small town, anyway), after a running battle with the Germans; the enemy had pulled out, the Americans were moving in, and there was a short break in the fighting. Bernie said a makeshift staging area was set up in front of the village church, where the men could get issued fresh ammunition, rations, water, that sort of thing.

The church was a beautiful old structure with twin spires in front; unfortunately, one of them had been sheared off by tank fire in taking out a sniper's post, and was lying next to the church in a pile of rubble. The priest of the church came out and was welcoming the Americans, and one of the guys in Bernie's outfit who spoke French, was talking with him. The conversation came around to the church building, and the G.I. commented on the structure; he mentioned that it was too bad that the one spire was demolished. The priest sighed and said yes, it was disappointing, especially since they had just gotten the other spire repaired just a few years ago.

The G.I. said, "Wait---you mean you just got the right-hand spire fixed, now the left-hand spire has been sheared off?", and the priest nodded. The G.I. said, "How did the first spire get damaged?", and the priest shrugged and said, "Artillery fire." The G.I. passed this on to the captain, who looked puzzled; he knew that the Germans had no artillery in the immediate area, and he also knew that the Americans had definitely not shelled the town before they moved in. The captain told the G.I., "Ask him whose artillery damaged the spire they repaired."

The G.I. relayed the question, and the priest sighed again and answered, "Napoleon's."