The Mail gets a sneak peek at the first Sagrada Familia tower to be opened to the public since 1976

‘The guy was a genius. What was inside his mind was crazy.’ So says my guide, Victor, of the late architect Antoni Gaudi. This is what I agree with.

I’m looking up at the golden base of the new Virgin Mary tower on a private tour of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. The church, Gaudi’s famously unfinished masterpiece, has been under construction for nearly 140 years.

I’m here on a historic day – hours previously, the Virgin Mary tower became the first tower of the Sagrada Familia to be officially opened to the public since 1976.

Pictured in the centre is the golden base of the Sagrada Familia’s new Virgin Mary tower 

On the right you can see the Virgin Mary tower. This is the Sagrada Familia’s first officially open tower since 1976.

Ailbhe (pictured on the left) gets the chance to go on a private tour of Gaudi’s famously unfinished masterpiece hours after the opening of the new tower (in the background). The much-anticipated “lighting of the Star” ceremony that illuminates the tower is shown on the right. Pope Francis sends a video message to mark the occasion, hailing the ‘great architect’ Gaudi

The church will be completed with 18 towers. The ninth tower in the long-term construction is this spire, which measures 138m (452ft).

At its tip, the Virgin Mary tower is crowned by a 5.5-tonne, 12-pointed glass star, known as ‘Bethlehem’s Star’.

During the private tour, Jordi Fauli, the Sagrada Familia’s Director of Architecture – who was just 31 when he joined the architectural team as a local in 1990 – tells me that this star was part of Gaudi’s otherworldly vision for the church. 

Below you will see the Sagrada Familia central nave roof with the base and new Virgin Mary tower at the centre.

The Virgin Mary Tower in November was decorated with the 12-pointed, 5.5-tonne glass star.

‘Bethlehem’s Star’ on the tip of the new tower – pictured in the centre – remained in darkness until the official ‘lighting of the star’ ceremony on December 8

Pictured is Jordi Fauli, the Sagrada Familia’s Director of Architecture, inside the church 

‘He designed a sketch of all the church, completely finished. He represented the star as a big circle, illuminated,’ Fauli says. 

It was installed on top of the Virgin Mary tower late November. It had remained in darkness until December 8, when I join the masses of locals outside the Sagrada Familia for the official ‘lighting of the star’ ceremony.

There’s a hush in the air, before an almighty cheer, and light travels up the tower, turning the star into a luminous beacon. Pope Francis sends a video message to mark the occasion, hailing the ‘great architect’ Gaudi.

It’s a historic moment for the team behind the long-running construction, who have been labouring over the project for decades.

Describing the ceremony, Ailbhe writes: ‘There’s a hush in the air, before an almighty cheer, and light travels up the tower (pictured on the far right), turning the star into a luminous beacon’

Fauli says: ‘When I arrived, only three of these columns [in the central nave]These were just 10m tall (33ft) when they were first built.

‘I was lucky enough to design and see the construction of the entire interior, then the sacristy and now the main towers.’

When it’s completed, the church’s tallest tower – dedicated to Jesus Christ – will rise 172m (564ft) over the streets of Barcelona. This will make it the highest church in the world, overtaking Germany’s Ulm Minster.

The Sagrada Familia’s “Passion Facade” is shown in the picture. When the church is complete, it will become the highest church in the world, overtaking Germany’s Ulm Minster

Sculptures of the “Passion Facade” The church was originally due for completion in 2026, but the coronavirus pandemic has delayed this deadline

Fauli asks when the whole project is expected to be finished. A 2026 finish line was previously proposed, marking the 100th anniversary of Gaudi’s death.

The coronavirus pandemic delayed the deadline. The foundation is dependent on donations and tourists to fund the project’s completion. Visitors are declining, which means that funding is not available.

‘It’s not possible for us to propose a new date because we don’t know how many visitors it will have. We need the tourists,’ Fauli tells me. 

In 1887, after Gaudi had taken over design and construction of Sagrada Familia, the Sagrada Familia was completed.

Gaudi’s death in 1926 heralded a new era for the church, with seven new architects taking turns to realize his vision of the construction. Antoni Gaudi is shown at the right, in 1882. He is buried under the Sagrada Familia in the crypt.

He hopes that the excitement surrounding completion of the tower will drive more people to fund its construction. ‘Perhaps from today [there] will be new donations from around the world,’ he says.

Gaudi, an architect who had originally intended to create a Gothic revival home of prayer, took over design duties for the church in 1883.

It became a life’s obsession for Gaudi. Gaudi, a modernist architect, devoted his life to religion as he grew older. He wore ragged suits and had a long beard. On his way to San Felip Neri for confession, he was struck and killed by a tram in June 1926. 

Director of Architecture Fauli is hopeful the buzz around the completion of the new tower (not shown) will inspire more to visit and fund the construction

The central nave. Construction of the church’s central nave was made possible by meticulous studying photos, drawings, testimony and testimony from Gaudi. 

His disheveled appearance led to him being mistaken as a beggar, and he was left by the tracks. Eventually, he was taken to the pauper’s ward in the Hospital de la Santa Creu, where he died three days later.

Thousands of mourners lined streets to pay their respects when news broke that the architect and pioneer had died. The Sagrada Familia was his final resting place.

Gaudi’s death heralded a new era for the church, with seven new architects taking turns to realize his vision of the construction.

Fauli believes that the ‘main aim’ of the Sagrada Familia’s design is ‘to elevate the people’

The Sagrada Familia is Spain’s most popular tourist attraction. The baldachin is shown in the picture [a ceremonial canopy]Over the altar of the church 

‘Gaudi wanted the interior of the church to resemble a forest,’ explains Victor, a tour guide for the travel company GetYourGuide

According to Ailbhe, Gaudi’s vision for a forest is brought to life by’stone concrete and tinted glasses’. 

Many of Gaudi’s original designs were destroyed during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s.

Fauli, who is the architect’s leader since 2012 insists the project stays true to Gaudi’s original plans. It was based on meticulous research of drawings and photographs as well as testimony from the deceased architect. Fauli believes that the ‘main aim’ of the design is ‘to elevate the people’.

The inside of the church I found quiet and still. It is bathed with psychedelic colors from the stained-glass windows. Only sound you hear is our footsteps.

Ailbhe learned that it is a rare opportunity to visit the Sagrada Familia sans the usual crowds of tourists. It was more than 4 million people annually pre-pandemic. This picture was taken by Ailbhe during Ailbhe’s tour. 

Victor, who works for GetYourGuide, a travel company that specialises in unique excursions, tells me that it’s a rare privilege to see the Sagrada Familia without its usual hordes of tourists. It’s Spain’s most popular tourist attraction, and before the pandemic hit, it attracted more than four million visitors annually. ‘I’m used to seeing a lot of people [here]This is not something that you can do every day, but it’s a great feeling. You’re very lucky,’ he says.

‘Gaudi wanted the interior of the church to resemble a forest,’ Victor adds. Through stone, concrete, tinted and tempered glass this forest-like setting comes alive. From floor to ceiling, huge columns run from tall to create the appearance of tree trunks. Like sunlight filtered through leaves, the windows allow light to filter through them. ‘Gaudi thought that the forest would be a nice place for prayer,’ Victor notes.

This surreal space also contains other nods towards the natural world. Holy water is held by the one-entrance of a large oyster shell, a gift from the Government of the Philippines. A stout turtle and tortoise guard the church’s Nativity Facade – one facing towards the sea, the other to the mountains.

I’m ushered into the sacristy, an area that the public is normally forbidden from entering. You will find ornaments and furniture throughout the room – such as carved benches, candleholders that wiggle in the wind, and twirling candles.

As impressive as the interior, it is equally stunning on the exterior. With its encrusted spires reaching into the heavens, it looks as if the church is an elegant ice cream cake.

Though it’s a work in progress, it’s a sight to behold. And with that, I exit the Sagrada Familia – the world’s most beautiful building site. 

For more information visit getyourguide.co.uk.

Aerial shot of Sagrada Familia, the “work in progress” Sagrada Familia rising over the Barcelona skyline