José Manuel Almuzara in Lima: Gaudí, the Architect of God Who Impacts and Converts

“Gaudí attracts, impacts, and converts; his architecture leads you to God.”

The architect and promoter of the cause for the beatification of Antoni Gaudí recounts the profound faith of the Servant of God and the miraculous origin of the Sagrada Familia. Almuzara details how the beauty of Gaudí’s work, rooted in nature, is a legacy that invites holiness and provides an update on the status of the process in the Vatican.

The expert José Manuel Almuzara, dedicated to promoting the beatification of Antoni Gaudí, offered a conference in Lima to present the figure of the brilliant Catalan architect. Almuzara recalled that Gaudí was a “Christian from head to toe” who exercised his faith progressively, always seeking to “add value” to his spiritual life. The Sagrada Familia, whose construction began on March 19, 1882, is the most important work in Barcelona and is expected to be completed between 2026 and 2030. Gaudí dedicated more than forty years of his life to this work, demonstrating total coherence between his art and his religious convictions.

Gaudí’s faith was so integral that it manifested in all his production, from his famous Modernist designs to his magnum opus. In his last twelve years, in an already more mystical manner, he abandoned all civil work to dedicate himself exclusively to the Expiatory Temple. A Modernist disciple rightly stated that Gaudí built the Sagrada Familia, and the Sagrada Familia built Gaudí, transforming him spiritually. Millions of people of all races and ideologies visit Barcelona to admire his buildings, drawn by the transcendent character that Gaudí imprinted on every detail.

“In the last 12 years [of his life], he abandoned all his civil work and dedicated himself exclusively to the Sagrada Familia, in an already more mystical way.”

The idea of building the Sagrada Familia originated with Josep Maria Bocabella in 1866, who founded the Spiritual Association of Devotees of Saint Joseph, concerned about the social and religious situation of the time. Devotion grew exponentially, especially after 1870, when the Pope declared Saint Joseph Patron of the Universal Church, eventually reaching 500,000 members. This fervor encouraged the association to purchase the plot in 1881, although the first architect conceived a Neo-Gothic project very different from the current one. When Gaudí, at 31, took over the work following his predecessor’s resignation, he radically transformed the design, initiating the dream we know today.

Gaudí always had to work to pay for his studies, which allowed him to meet the best architects in Barcelona, although even in school he was described as “a genius or a madman.” His first great patron was Eusebi Güell, who discovered him at the 1878 Paris Universal Exhibition upon seeing a simple display case for gloves designed by him. Aware that he would not live to see it finished, Gaudí adopted a unique construction strategy: building vertically, prioritizing the Nativity Façade. This design sought to captivate the public with the beauty of the façade, ensuring that donations would continue to flow even after his death.

“Man’s great necessity is that beauty which leads us to God.”

Regarding the cause for beatification, Almuzara reported that the process has been open in the Vatican since 2003 and the *positio* is nearing completion. It is expected that within one or two years, God willing, Gaudí may be declared Venerable, thus recognizing that he lived the virtues in a heroic degree. Although numerous testimonies of favors have already been received, the approval of a miracle is still required for beatification. The goal of the cause is to spread the message that the beauty of Gaudí’s architecture, inspired by nature and the creation of God, is a path to holiness that draws man closer to transcendence.