Amid pilgrimages to the now-complete Sagrada Família, ‘God’s architect’ Antoni Gaudí’s path to sainthood feels set
A century after his death, Gaudí was declared ‘venerable’ by the Pope, putting him on the track toward canonisation. Whether or not the Vatican accepts him, there’s no doubt about his devotion to architecture.
In April 2025, Pope Francis authorised a decree declaring Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí “venerable” – a major milestone on his path to sainthood. Next up is beatification. That’s the stage where you need to prove that a person led a life guided by heroic values, has an impeccably holy reputation and has been responsible for a miracle (maybe curing tourists’ sore knees after traipsing up all the steps at Barcelona’s Park Güell?).
To be frank, you would have hoped that the creation of the Sagrada Família basilica, the exterior of which was finally completed this summer after 144 years, would have been enough to swing him a sainthood. While this might be one of the most exclusive clubs in the world, surely there’s scope to swiftly advance the occasional candidate? The Pope is perhaps mindful of the fact that, while Gaudí was a devout Catholic who remained single all his life and put his body through intense, lengthy fasts to demonstrate his commitment to God, he was, ultimately, an architect.
It’s quite hard to be in that line of work and remain, well, saintly at all times. Builders, meddling planners and ill-informed critics all tend to push these sensitive souls over the edge every now and then. English writer Peter Stanford, known for his work on religion, has suggested that perhaps Gaudí is too complex and rich a figure to be moved along this particular conveyor belt. Sainthood, he recently said, “reflects an extraordinary life of religious devotion, and that clearly was a very important part of him, but it puts him in too small a box. In terms of people who could be in the biggest box possible or no box at all, Gaudí seems to me to be a very good example, because his imagination knew no boundaries.”
There’s also the question of whether Gaudí would have wanted this. After all, someone upstairs was neglecting his needs when, in 1926, he was run over by a tram and killed while walking to church.
In the end, however, it matters little whether he officially attains sainthood because people are already enraptured and mesmerised by his work, and make pilgrimages to see Casa Vicens and Casa Milà. And they can witness a true miracle: the Sagrada Família.
To many, “God’s architect” is already a saint.
About the writer
Andrew Tuck is Monocle’s editor in chief. And while no saint himself, he is delighted that his namesake is the patron saint of Scotland, a country where his ancestral roots run deep.
