Top arm of 17m-high cross on the pinnacle of church’s Jesus Christ tower successfully installed on Friday
Antoni Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia has reached its full height of 172.5m following the successful installation of the final exterior piece of the basilica’s tallest tower.
The upper arm of a 17m-tall cross on the pinnacle of the tower of Jesus Christ was hoisted into place on Friday, completing the Barcelona cathedral’s grouping of six central towers.
The milestone comes in the centenary year of Gaudi’s death in 1926 and 144 years after work started on the church, which became the world’s tallest in October last year during construction of its central tower.
The three-dimensional cross was manufactured in Germany and shipped to Barcelona in fourteen prefabricated pieces over the past few months.
The structure is clad in white glazed ceramics designed to shine during the day, while windows within each arm will be lit up at night in accordance with Gaudi’s vision for the cross to emit light at all hours.
The 4.9m-high upper arm of the cross will contain a sculpture of the Lamb of God designed by Italian artist Andrea Matrovito which will be visible through the arm’s windows.
Work on the interior of the Jesus Christ tower is now set to continue during 2027 and 2028, with the entire cathedral, which is now in its final construction phase, expected to complete in the mid-2030s.
Key elements still left to finish include the Glory Facade, a monumental entrance on the building’s southern side which will be the largest of the church’s three facades and a grand staircase leading up to the facade.
Much of the design of the basilica has been reconstructed from the remains of Gaudi’s drawings and models of the building, which were destroyed by anarchists in 1936, with other parts of the building being modern interpretations designed in the later 20th century.
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