Almuzara, among La Vie’s voices on the Sagrada Família
“It is impossible to understand Gaudí without his faith: he had exceptional gifts that he placed at the service of God”
The French magazine La Vie, a leading voice in the Catholic press, devotes the cover feature of its double issue to the Sagrada Família. José Manuel Almuzara appears among its principal voices, alongside the basilica's rector and the art historian Maria Garganté Llanes.
The French weekly magazine La Vie, a leading name in the Catholic press in France, has devoted the cover feature of its double issue 4214-4215, corresponding to 4 to 11 June 2026, to the Sagrada Família. The piece is titled "The Sagrada Família, a work of faith in perpetual construction." It appears on the occasion of the centenary of Antoni Gaudí's death and of the Mass that Pope Leo XIV celebrated in the basilica on 10 June. In its pages, José Manuel Almuzara is cited as an architect and Gaudí expert.
Almuzara is one of the feature's principal voices, alongside the art historian Maria Garganté Llanes and the basilica's rector, Josep Maria Turull. His testimony underscores what he considers the key to understanding the architect: his faith. For Almuzara, Gaudí's genius cannot be separated from his spiritual life, for he offered his talent as a gift to God. That deeply Catholic outlook runs through his entire contribution to the issue of La Vie.
“Gaudí was aware of the people's difficulties in the face of the high cost of living, illness and labour exploitation”
The expert insists that the temple should not be read solely in artistic or tourist terms, but also in its human and social dimension. He recalls that Gaudí was attentive to the hardships of the humble people of his time. He knew at first hand, he explains, the difficulties the ordinary folk faced in the face of the high cost of living, illness and labour exploitation. In this way, the feature portrays a believer who placed his work at the service of God and of his neighbour.
The feature also offers the portrait of a living temple. The basilica received almost 4.9 million visits in 2025 and now rises to 172.5 metres, following the completion, in February 2026, of the tower of Jesus Christ. In its crypt three Masses are celebrated daily, and each year around 200 baptisms are administered. The four towers of the apostles on the Glory façade remain to be raised, and it is estimated that nearly a decade of architectural work still lies ahead.
“This is neither a theme park nor a museum: what matters is that thousands of visitors may find conversion or come to know the holy life of Gaudí”
Against those who see the temple as a mere attraction, Almuzara defends its true meaning. The Sagrada Família, he maintains, is neither a theme park nor a museum, but a place where thousands of visitors can draw closer to the faith or discover the holy life of its creator. That conviction connects with Almuzara's own commitment to the cause for Gaudí's beatification. His presence in La Vie confirms the interest that the figure of the architect continues to arouse in the European Catholic press.