Sagrada Familia history

The story of this still-under-construction masterpiece began all the way back in 1874 when a local organization began campaigning for the construction of a church honouring the Holy Family.

In 1881, thanks to donations, the Spiritual Association of the Devotees of Saint Joseph bought a 12,800 m2 plot to build the temple.

After a couple of years of planning and drawing up plans, the cornerstone of the church was officially laid on 19th March 1882.

Gaudí was not appointed Architect Director until 1884.

1885: Inauguration of the Chapel of Saint Joseph in the crypt.

1891: Work begins on the facade of the Nativity.

The church shares its site with the Sagrada Família Schools building, a school originally designed by Gaudí in 1909 for the children of the construction workers.

From 1914, Antoni Gaudí ceased his work on civil projects and focused solely and exclusively on the construction of the temple.

On 30 November 1925, construction of the first bell tower of the Nativity façade was completed.

As luck would have it, it was the only Sagrada Familia tower Gaudi would see in his life as he died on June 10th 1926.

La Sagrada Família under construction, 1929 by Diari Oficial de l’Exposició Internacional de Barcelona – WikiCommons

Part of Gaudi's vision and the majority of his ideas was destroyed in a fire set by anarchists in 1936.

Following Gaudí’s death, his disciple Domènec Sugrañes took over construction until 1938.

1939: Francesc de Paula Quintana took over the management of the building site, which was able to continue thanks to the material saved from Gaudí's workshop and reconstructed from the published plans and photographs.

1952: Construction of the staircase of the Nativity façade and the first lighting of the façade.

1954: Laying of the foundation stone of the Passion façade.

1958: On March 19, the feast day of St Joseph, a group of sculptures by Jaume Busquets representing the Holy Family was installed.A museum is opened to visitors to explain the historical, technical, artistic and symbolic aspects of the Temple.

1978: The construction of the facades of the side naves begins.

1986: Josep Maria Subirachs was commissioned to create the sculpture groups of the Passion facade.

The keystones that cover the central nave of the temple were completed in 1993.

Since the year 2000, vaults have been completed structurally and closed, the foundations of the Glory façade have been laid, the Passion façade has been completed, with the participation of Josep Maria Subirachs, and the Japanese sculptor, Etsuro Sotoo, is completing the decoration on the façade.

Work on this facade began in 2002 and it is therefore not very far along.

The part built by Gaudí was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.

As of 2006, work concentrated on the crossing and supporting structure for the main steeple of Jesus Christ as well as the southern enclosure of the central nave, which will become the Glory façade.

In 2008, some renowned Catalan architects advocated halting construction to respect Gaudí's original designs, which, although they were not exhaustive and were partially destroyed, have been partially reconstructed in recent years.

The tunnel's construction, which began on 26 March 2010, was controversial.

On 19 April 2011, an arsonist started a small fire in the sacristy which forced the evacuation of tourists and construction workers.

2012: Jordi Faulí succeeds Jordi Bonet as chief architect and director of the Sagrada Família temple works.

Since 2013, AVE high-speed trains have passed near the Sagrada Família through a tunnel that runs beneath the centre of Barcelona.

Chief architect Jordi Fauli announced in October 2015 that construction is 70 percent complete and has entered its final phase of raising six immense steeples.

2016: The construction of the towers of the Evangelists, the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ began.

Starting on 9 July 2017, there is an international mass celebrated at the basilica on every Sunday and holy day of obligation, at 9 a.m, open to the public (until the church is full). Occasionally, Mass is celebrated at other times, where attendance requires an invitation.

In 2018, the stone type needed for the construction was found in a quarry in Brinscall, near Chorley, England.

2019: The Jesus Christ tower, the Evangelists tower and the Virgin Mary tower begin to take shape.

On 11 March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain, construction was stopped and the basilica was closed.

On 29 November 2021 a 7m twelve-pointed illuminated crystal star was installed on one of the main towers of the basilica.