Almuzara backs in Rancagua the only Gaudí chapel in the Americas
“Beauty is a human necessity, for it has the power to awaken peace and hope”
The foremost expert on the work of Antoni Gaudí and promoter of his beatification travelled to Rancagua to lend his support to the construction of the chapel of Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles, the only work ever raised from the Catalan architect's original plans outside Spain.
José Manuel Almuzara, architect and foremost expert on the work of Antoni Gaudí, visited Rancagua (Chile) on 6 July 2026 at the invitation of the Universidad San Sebastián. He came in his capacity as ambassador of the Gaudí Project for Rancagua, a role he has held since 2016. His day brought together institutional, academic and spiritual encounters centred on the figure of the brilliant Catalan architect. The visit gave impetus to a singular undertaking: the future chapel designed by Gaudí that will rise in the Chilean city.
The heart of the visit was the Espacio Gaudí, set within the Parque Cataluña, where the chapel of Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles will be built. It will be the only work ever raised from Gaudí's original plans outside Spain and the only one in all of the Americas. The church will have a base of ten by ten metres and stand thirty metres tall, following the very design Gaudí conceived for a chapel of the Sagrada Família. Its construction turns Rancagua into a point of reference for the study of and devotion to the architect.
“Gaudí's architecture was conceived as a glorification of God”
The origin of this legacy dates back to 1922, when Gaudí donated the plans to the Chilean Franciscan friar Angélico Aranda. The architect himself conceived the work as a symbol of fraternity between Spain and the Americas. A century later, the Corporación Gaudí de Triana is driving the building of the church. A delegation travelled to Barcelona to meet with Jordi Faulí, the chief architect of the Sagrada Família.
Almuzara's schedule in Rancagua included a meeting with the bishop of the diocese, Monsignor Guillermo Vera, and a conversation with pupils of the Colegio Marista. He also presented the book «Gaudí, el arquitecto del alma» (Gaudí, the Architect of the Soul) and delivered the lecture 'Gaudí: Architecture and Symbolism'. The local press, El Rancagüino, headlined that the foremost expert on Gaudí was backing the advance of the future chapel in Rancagua. The Bishopric's website summed up the meaning of the day with an eloquent phrase: 'Beauty leads to God'.
“Gaudí wrote that this work would serve to unite the peoples of Spain and the Americas”
For Almuzara, Gaudí's architecture cannot be understood apart from the faith that inspired it, for it was conceived as a glorification of God. In every line of his churches beats the intention to lift the soul towards the transcendent. That is why he stressed that beauty is not a luxury but a profound human necessity, capable of awakening peace and hope. The future chapel in Rancagua embodies that longing: to unite peoples and draw them closer to God through beauty.
📰 Artículo original: https://www.elrancaguino.cl/2026/07/06/maximo-experto-en-gau…