.La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona (exterior)

Been meaning to post about this one for a while....way back in December I caught a story on PRI's The World about the effort to beatify the Catalan architect Antonio Gaudí (b. 1852). Beatification is the third of four steps in the process of canonization.La Sagrada Familia

Supporters of the petition have submitted evidence to the Vatican (obviously preoccupied right now with more pressing matters) that they say demonstrates Gaudí's ability to intercede with God on behalf of us mortals. They point specifically to La Sagrada Familia, Gaudí's unfinished masterpiece begun in 1882, which they maintain has the power to convert non-believers. As reported by The Guardian, Cardinal Ricard Maria Carles of Barcelona, where much of Gaudí's work resides, asserts that "only divine inspiration could have produced such a monument to God. 'Can anyone acquainted with [Gaudí's] work believe that all which one contemplates could possibly have been produced only by cold thought?'"La Sagrada Familia
La Sagrada Familia (exterior detail)

I'm not Catholic myself and have no basis for an opinion as to whether Gaudí is deserving of sainthood. (Apparently one of the requirements is evidence that he performed at least two miracles, which seems to have presented a challenge for his supporters. They've recently managed to find one man willing to testify that contemplation of Gaudí's work healed his bum leg; this strikes me as a little suspicious, but again, I'm not qualified to judge.)La Sagrada Familia (exterior detail)

That aside, there is something incredibly touching about this effort, which is a testament to the power of art and architecture to provoke a transcendent experience. I also have to admit that as I was standing in the Sagrada Familia a few years ago, surrounded by crowds of people and looking up at the ceilings still under construction, I had the sudden reaction of bursting into tears. (I know, I know, super dramatic.) I mention it because it was odd — not odd that I would cry; I'm a crier — but odd that a religious symbol would trigger that response. I was raised to have a healthy distrust of all organized religion and have been in cathedrals and churches all over Europe without feeling anything remotely approaching religious epiphany.La Sagrada Familia (interior)

That particular reaction was probably less about religious inspiration than the poignancy of witnessing in the ongoing construction a very human effort to connect with the divine. But still, when I read that supporters of Gaudí's beatification point to this building's power to inspire heathens to get religion, I had to reflect on the experience.La Sagrada Familia (interior)

Gaudí died on June 10, 1926, after being struck by a tram while on his way to La Sagrada Familia. A while ago my friend Michelle put me up on a beautiful 1979 documentary directed by the late Hiroshi Teshigahara that captures Gaudì's architecture, ecclesiastical and otherwise, and sets it to music by Toru Takemitsu. UbuWeb lets you watch the entirety of the 72-minute film here.La Pedrera, Barcelona