Sagrada Família facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família Basílica y Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia
View of the Passion Façade (Western side) in September  2009 (cranes digitally removed)
Religion
Affiliation	Roman Catholic
District	Barcelona
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Minor basilica
Leadership	Archbishop Lluís Martínez Sistach
Year consecrated	7 November 2010
Location
Location	Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Architecture
Architect(s)	Antoni Gaudí
Architectural style	Modernisme
General contractor	Construction Board of La Sagrada Família Foundation
Groundbreaking	1882
Completed	2026-2028 (estimate)
Specifications
Direction of façade	Northeast
Capacity	9,000
Length	90 metres (300 ft)
Width	60 metres (200 ft)
Width (nave)	45 metres (148 ft)
Spire(s)	18 (8 already built)
Spire height	170 metres (560 ft) (planned)
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name: Works of Antoni Gaudí
Criteria	i, ii, iv
Designated	1984
Reference no.	320bis
Type	Cultural
State Party	Spain
Region	Europe and North America
Spanish Property of Cultural Interest
Official name: Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia
24-07-1969
(R.I.)-51-0003813-00000
Type	Monument

The Sagrada Família (full name Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família) is a large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926).

Although not finished, the church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In November 2010 it was consecrated (dedicated to a special purpose) and made a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI.

Building of the Sagrada Família began in 1882. Gaudí started working on it in 1883. He took over the project, and changed it with his ideas on architecture and engineering.

Gaudí worked on it until he died. At the time of his death in 1926, less than a quarter of the building was finished. The Sagrada Família's building was slow. It needed private donations (people giving money to it). It was stopped by the Spanish Civil War—only to start again in the 1950s. Building was more than halfway done after 2010. Some of the project's biggest problems still remain. There is an expected finish date of 2026–100 years after Gaudí's death.

Images for kids

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  Model of the complete design

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  New stonework at the Sagrada Família (left) is visible against the stained and weathered older sections (right).

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  In this model, the remaining parts to be built are shown in brown (2022).

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  Base of the Christ steeple under construction (2009)

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  Japanese artist Etsuro Sotoo at work in the gypsum workshop

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  The top of the Virgin Mary's Spire (completed in December 2021)

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  The Nativity façade

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  Sculpture of the choir of angel children

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  Passion Façade of the Sagrada Família in 2018

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  Eucharist Door of the Glory Facade showing, at bottom, the "A...G" for Antoni Gaudí

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  Alpha and Omega carving at Sagrada Família entrance

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  Detail of a steeple of the Passion Façade decorated with the word Sanctus

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  1905

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  1915

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  2019

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  Model of the completed Temple; the Glory Façade is on the foreground.

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  Model showing the entrance as wished by Gaudí.

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  Ground model, showing Carrer de Mallorca running underground.

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  Glory Façade under construction in 2016.

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  The Glory Façade from inside.

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  Drawing of the facade, exposed on site.

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  Standing in the transept and looking northeast

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  Detail of the roof in the nave. Gaudí designed the columns to resemble trees and branches.

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  The nave

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  Ceiling of the apse (before installation of the stained-glass windows)

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  Ceiling and columns of the nave

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  Ceiling of the nave