In visit to Spain’s Sagrada Familia, Pope Leo speaks out against war |
BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters) — Pope Leo visited Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia on Wednesday and inaugurated the newest of its soaring geometric spires that make the modernist structure designed by Antoni Gaudi the world’s tallest church.
At a Mass in the vast, light-infused church, Leo called it an “architectural masterpiece,” before walking outside to bless the 172.5-meter (566 feet) Tower of Jesus Christ, crowned with a five-storey ceramic cross visible across the Catalan capital.
The ceremony, in which the pope also said that Christians cannot support war, came on the 100th anniversary of Gaudi’s death and was a central purpose of Leo’s weeklong tour of Spain.
Pope says Christians can’t promote war
The pope, who drew the ire of US President Donald Trump after criticizing the Iran war, said in his sermon at the Mass, attended by thousands, including Spain’s King Felipe, Queen Letizia and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, that Christians “cannot believe in Jesus and promote war.”
Leo is the third pope to visit the basilica. He came a year after the Vatican, whose media portal has called Gaudi “God’s architect,” approved an important step towards sainthood for the visionary.
Gaudi, born in 1852, was a........