Approved Positio and New Canonical Association Boost Antoni Gaudí’s Beatification Cause

“Antoni Gaudí: the architect who united the beauty of the temporal world and the eternal”

Peruvian press highlights the path to sainthood of the Servant of God Antoni Gaudí following the unanimous approval of his *positio* by historians. Architect José Manuel Almuzara, promoter of the cause, comments on the progress and the new canonical structure. The vision of Pope Benedict XVI regarding beauty in the work of the brilliant Catalan architect is also recalled.

The path toward the beatification of the Servant of God Antoni Gaudí continues to advance with firm steps, as reported in a recent article by columnist Úrsula Delgado in the Peruvian outlet RPP.pe. The publication emphasizes the significance of November 7, 2023, when nine historians unanimously approved the *positio* that compiles the life, virtues, and fame of holiness of the Catalan architect. This printed volume is fundamental for the process to continue and for Gaudí to be declared venerable. The article frames this milestone with papal visits to the Sagrada Familia, recalling the words of Saint John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

The journalistic piece underscores the profoundly Christian dimension of Gaudí’s work, citing Pope Benedict XVI’s homily during the consecration of the Sagrada Familia in 2010. The Pontiff highlighted that Gaudí managed to overcome the ‘split between human conscience and Christian conscience,’ uniting temporal existence with openness to eternal life. Furthermore, the Pope Emeritus emphasized that beauty is a ‘great necessity for man’ and a powerful ‘revealer of God.’ This vision stresses the transcendent value of Gaudí’s architecture, which acts as a bridge toward the divine.

“For José Manuel Almuzara, “with the approval of the *positio* and the subsequent creation of the Canonical Association, dependent on the Archbishopric of Barcelona, whose president is Cardinal Omella, the goal is the same: to bring Gaudí to the altars”.”

In this context, the article mentions the architect and Gaudí expert José Manuel Almuzara, former president of the civil association for the beatification of Antoni Gaudí, who promoted the cause for over thirty years. Almuzara values the recent constitution of the Canonical Association, dependent on the Archbishopric of Barcelona and presided over by Cardinal Juan José Omella, on December 1, 2023. For him, the purpose of this new structure remains the same: ‘to bring Gaudí to the altars,’ now with greater institutional momentum. The expert expresses his hope that Gaudí will be declared venerable in 2025 and blessed in 2026, coinciding with the centenary of his death.

Architect Almuzara also shares Gaudí’s reflections on his craft and life, recalling his vision for the Sagrada Familia’s Christ Tower, which does not surpass the height of the mountains, because ‘human work cannot surpass the divine.’ He stresses that Gaudí used to say that work must be ‘the fruit of collaboration and must be based on love.’ Likewise, he recalls that the architect believed that to ‘do things well, one must first love them and then learn the technique.’ Finally, Almuzara quotes the sadness felt by ‘he who, when working, first thinks about the money he is going to receive.’

“Furthermore, on that occasion, Benedict XVI said that Gaudí “did something that is one of the most important tasks today: overcoming the split between human conscience and Christian conscience, between existence in this temporal world and openness to eternal life, between the beauty of things and God as Beauty”.”

This international press article reaffirms the global interest in the figure of Antoni Gaudí not only as an architectural genius but also as a model of faith and holiness. His work is the testimony of a life lived with absolute austerity and Christian coherence, as noted by Benedict XVI. The perseverance in the cause, driven by figures like José Manuel Almuzara and now by the Church of Barcelona, brings us closer to the day when the architect of God will be raised to the altars. His legacy continues to inspire humanity to seek peace through the beauty that r