"EL TEMPLE ÉS UNA OBRA QUE ESTÀ EN LES MANS DE DÉU I EN LA VOLUNTAT DEL POBLE" A.GAUDÍ

Basilica of La Sagrada Família

The Basilica of La Sagrada Família aims to be a welcoming place for prayer and reflection, a place to express the love of God and men. The church is still being constructed thanks to the donations received from all over the world. In 1874 the Spiritual Association of the Devotees of St Joseph, whose president was Josep Maria Bocabella, promoted the construction of an expiatory church dedicated to the Holy Family, and in 1882 the foundation stone of the crypt was laid under the direction of the architect Francisco de P. del Villar. He was relieved a year and half later by Antoni Gaudí, who devoted forty-three years of his life to this work, the last twelve almost exclusively. Later on a generous anonymous donation was received and Gaudí turned the original project upside down to create this exceptional church, innovatory in its forms, structures and construction.