Pope Leo to hold iconic mass at Spain’s Sagrada Família cathedral

Pope Leo XIV will hold Mass at Barcelona’s iconic La Sagrada Familia where he will offer a blessing to the highest spire of the world’s tallest church.

BARCELONA, Spain — Pope Leo XIV will hold Mass at Barcelona’s iconic La Sagrada Familia on Wednesday where he will offer a papal blessing to the highest spire of what is now the tallest church in the world.

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Sagrada Familia’s distinctive Modernist basilica has been under construction for more than 140 years but, in February, work finally finished on the central Tower of Jesus Christ, which stands at 566 feet high and is crowned with a gigantic five-story ceramic cross.

The Mass in Barcelona will be a capstone of Leo’s weeklong visit to Spain, his first significant European trip since being elected pontiff last year and the first papal trip to the predominantly Catholic nation in 15 years.