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A R T I C L E SANTONI GAUDI: GOD’S ARCHITECTMichael RoseAll the great cathedrals have taken centuriesto complete. The Cathedral ofthe Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) inBarcelona, Spain, is no exception. Begun in1883, only half of this imposing church isnow complete. Construction work, however,steadily continues as donations keepcoming in to support the work. Architectsestimate that the church will take at leastanother 40 years to complete. Some say itcould take as many as 150 years.Sagrada Familia is the most renownedbuilding designed by Spanish architectAntoni Gaudi, whose cause forbeatification was opened last year bythe Cardinal Archbishop ofBarcelona. The cathedral is a testamentto the architect’s faith. In someways, Gaudi’s Barcelona church resemblesthe great cathedrals of theMedieval age: Sagrada Familia wasbased on the plan of a Gothic basilicawith five naves, a transept, an apse,and ambulatory.It is designed with soaring towers,capped by spires, and is repletewith dense symbolism throughoutthe structure. Gaudi, however,wanted to create a “20th century cathedral,”a synthesis of all his architecturalknowledge with a visual explicationof the mysteries of faith. Hedesigned façades representing theNativity, Crucifixion, and Resurrectionof Christ; and eighteen towers,symbolizing the twelve Apostles, thefour Evangelists, the Virgin Maryand Christ. The Christ tower, the tallest,when completed will stand some500 feet high. To date, eight of theeighteen towers are completed. Eachis of a unique spiral-shape coveredin patterns of Venetian glass and mosaiccrowned by the Holy Cross.God’s Architect“My client can wait,” was Gaudi’sgenial response to his helpers whendelays occurred due to his constantchanges to the original plans. Gaudi alwaysacknowledged that his ultimate clientwas God, whom he felt was in no hurry.The architect wanted the finest and mostperfect sacred temple for his client. Hetruly worked ad majorem Dei gloriam, for thegreater glory of God.Gaudi, known as “neo-Medieval” in hisday, developed a unique style of building.His work is characterized by the use ofnaturalistic forms, and his approach cameto be known as the “biological style.”Sagrada Familia is known for its conicalspires, parabolic arched doorways andfreely curving lines. As in most of his work,Gaudi has created the impression the stoneused was soft and modeled like clay orwax.Gaudi directed the construction of thechurch from 1883 until his sudden death in1926. He became so involved with thechurch that he set up residence in his onsitestudy and devoted the last 14 years ofhis life to this most important of all hisprojects. He regarded Sagrada Familia as agreat mission. On June 7, 1926, Gaudi wasConstruction of Sagrada Familia continueshit by a street car. Three days later he diedat the age of 74.When he died, the people of Barcelonapopularly proclaimed him a “saint.” Therewas great commotion. Even though helived in a reserved manner, removed fromthe world, rumor of his sanctity had alreadyspread. No newspaper, not even themost virulently anti-Catholic, attackedhim. The director of the Museum of theBarcelona Archdiocese wrote an article callingGaudi “God’s Architect.” His architectureis an expression of his Christian commitment.From the very beginning of the20th century Sagrada Familia became anicon of the city of Barcelona, just as theEiffel Tower is an icon of Paris. And afterthe architect’s death, the people ofBarcelona regarded him as a patron of theirgrand city.There have even been documented conversionsresulting from the architecture ofSagrada Familia. The most prominent involvedtwo Japanese men. One is architectKenji Imai. He arrived in Barcelona twomonths after Gaudi’s death. He was travelingall over the world to meet the great architectsof the day, but by the time hereached Barcelona Gaudi was deadand buried. Even so, Imai was notdisappointed. Sagrada Familia madesuch an impression on him that,when he became a professor in Japanhe gave several lectures on Gaudiand, finally, converted to Catholicism.The other convert is sculptorEtsuro Sotoo, who worked for yearsfashioning statues on Barcelona’s cathedral,and ultimately became aCatholic.The Work ContinuesAfter Gaudi’s death, work continuedon the church until 1936. Thesewere the days of the bloody SpanishCivil War. The Communists, whohated all things Catholic, set fire toGaudí’s study which held his notesand designs for Sagrada Familia.Many of these were destroyed, butthe project resumed in 1952 using thesurviving drawings and models tocontinue the work. Today, the constructedpart is open to visitors aswell as the small museum that exhibitsGaudi’s original plans and models.Later this year, Cardinal RicardMaria Carles of Barcelona will inaugurateSagrada Familia with a solemnMass on December 31, the Feastof the Holy Family. The 150-foothighcentral nave is scheduled to betotally roofed by that date. Referring to theBasilica’s beauty, Cardinal Carles told aSpanish newspaper: “for me it transmits anevangelical message, very much Gaudi’sstyle.” Perhaps for that reason, AntoniGaudi is regarded still as “God’s Architect.”Michael S. Rose is editor of the St.Catherine Review and author of The RenovationManipulation: The Church Counter-Renovation Manual. He can be reached byemail at: mrose@erinet.com.12 Fall 2000 Sacred Architecture
THE SPIRIT OF MEDIATOR DEIA R T I C L E STHE RENEWAL OF CHURCH ARCHITECTURE BEFORE VATICAN IIIt is generally thought byliturgists and theorists ofliturgical architecture thatlittle occurred in the area ofrenewal of church designbefore the Second VaticanCouncil. The architecturalmodernism of the post-Conciliarera has therefore oftenbeen thought to representthe Council’s artistic intentions.However, before theCouncil, church architecturehad already undergone significantchange in responseto the Liturgical Movementand Pius XII’s encyclicalMediator Dei (1947). Statementsof popes, architects,and pioneers of the LiturgicalMovement point to a liturgicaland architecturalcontext which presents avastly different approach toarchitecture than the starkinteriors presented by manyarchitects after the Council.Despite the prevailing beliefthat architectural modernismwas the only availableoption for the modernchurch, the early twentiethcentury provides considerableevidence of representational,historically-connectedand often beautifularchitectural designs responsiveto the same principlescanonized in thedocuments of Vatican II.SacrosanctumConciliumgrew directly out of theideas expressed in the LiturgicalMovement and MediatorDei, and must be read inthat context to convey a fullunderstanding of the authentic spirit ofVatican II regarding liturgical architecture.The Liturgical Movement inAmericaArchitects and liturgists of the earlytwentieth century proclaimed an almostunrelenting criticism of Victorian ecclesiasticaldesign. It was, they argued, the productof a pioneer mentality in American Catholicismin which poor and under-educatedpatrons hired uninspired architectsand purchased low quality mass-producedliturgical goods from catalogs. In response,Denis McNamaraVictorian ecclesiastical design: St. Mary’s Church, New Haven,Connecticut by James Murphy, 1874architect-authors like Charles Maginnisand Ralph Adams Cram called for moreadequate ecclesiastical design and furnishings.At the same time, the LiturgicalMovement began to establish its presencein the United States. The movement’s leadersbelieved that American liturgy had sufferedunder an individualist pioneer mentalityas well, leading to a minimalist liturgicalpractice and general lack of understandingabout the place of the Eucharisticliturgy in the life of the Church. The LiturgicalMovement mingled with the pre-existingtraditionally-based architectural designmethods of the 1920sand 1930s, and over the nextseveral decades wroughtconsiderable improvementin ecclesiastical design.One of the earliest Americanmouthpieces of the LiturgicalMovement was theBenedictine periodical OrateFratres, a journal of liturgyfounded by Benedictinemonk Virgil Michel andbased on his studies of philosophyand liturgy in Europein the 1920s. One of thejournal’s first articles, entitled“Why a LiturgicalMovement?,” was written byBasil Stegmann, O.S.B., whowas later to become an activeparticipant in the Americanliturgical discussions. 1 Heexplained the need for liturgicalreform to an Americanchurch still generally unawareof European developments.Stegmann cited PiusX’s 1903 Motu propio whichexpressed the pope’s “mostardent desire to see the trueChristian spirit flourishagain” and which claimedthat “the foremost and indispensablefount is the activeparticipation in the mostholy mysteries and in thepublic and solemn prayer ofthe Church.” 2 Stegmanncalled for all members of theChurch to become intimatelyunited with Christ and form“what St. Paul calls mysticallythe body of Christ.” Themovement’s new concentrationon the baptistery, altarand improved participationnaturally lead to changes in church design.Other features of the Liturgical Movementincluded a “profound spirit of fidelity tothe Church,” a patristic revival, a new interestin Gregorian chant, the use of the Liturgyof the Hours for laypeople and themore frequent following of Latin-vernacularmissals. 3The early proponents of the LiturgicalMovement sought to improve liturgicalquality by putting the primary features ofthe liturgical life in their proper place. Previously,the prevailing individualist approachto liturgy meant that worshippersSacredArchitecture Fall 2000 13
Page 4 and 5: N E W SThe long awaited revision of
Page 6 and 7: N E W SRendering of proposed change
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Page 10 and 11: F E A T U R EStreet facade of Missi
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Page 34: The Agency for the CityRome, ItalyT

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