Church Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain

The idea to establish an expiatory church, dedicated to the Holy Family (Cat. Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia), came in 1872 and was the inspiration of Josep Maraa Bocabella, founder of Spiritual Association of Devotees of St. Joseph (Asociacion Espiritual de Devotos de San Jose). The construction of the church started architect Francisco del Villar in 1882, but since 1883, because of Villar's disagreement with customers, a brilliant Catalan architect Antonio Gaudi undertake construction works with new design and lead the constriction until his death in 1926. However, Gaudi had no time to complete building, and about 80% of work was still unfinished. The building of the Sagrada Familia is not completed yet and construction woks are still continuing today, and its final completion is planned in the first third of the XXI century.

In final version the church will be topped with eighteen towers. The central tower is 170 meters high and is dedicated to Jesus, slightly lower bell tower of St. Mary, four 120-meter towers are in honor of the Evangelists, and 12 towers from 98-112 meters each, four on each facade, are devoted to the twelve Apostles. Church of the Holy Family, along with six other works of Gaudi, was placed on UNESCO's World Heritage List. This church is considered as the best creation of Antonio Gaudi and one of the finest architectural masterpieces in the world. In 2010, the Sagrada Familia was consecrated by Pope Benedict XVI.