The Vatican acknowledged his “heroic virtues” and placed Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi on his path to saint.
Although called the “Architect of God”, Gaudi is the designer of Barcelona’s unfinished Sagrada Familia Basilica, one of Spain’s most famous religious sites and tourist attractions.
On Monday, the Vatican issued a statement that Pope Francis had approved a statute declaring “venerable” Catalan-born architects.
It is early in the path to becoming a candidate for being officially formalized by the Catholic Church.
This is the latest development in a decades-long campaign to have Gaudi, a dev Catholic, who was recognised as a saint.
Cardinal Juan Jose Omera, the archbishop of Barcelona, called the news “joy.”
“It’s a recognition that it’s more important than just his architectural work,” he said, according to AFP News Agency.
The Cardinal continued: “He is saying you… in the difficulties of life, in the work, in pain, in the suffering, in the hearts of life, in the face of life, in the face of pain, in the face of suffering, in the face of saints.”
The usual formal process for someone to be declared a saint, in turn, comes with bliss.
It is a category reserved for martyrs, those who were deemed to have lived a life of heroic values and candidates who declare that the church has a sacred reputation.
In the case of Gaudi, who died in 1926 after being attacked by a tram whilst walking to the church, the Vatican would need evidence of miracles that could be attributed to him to advance his bliss.
Gaudi was born in 1852 and many of his most famous works continue to attract visitors to Barcelona, where much of his legacy is located.
The Sagrada Familia Basilica has been under construction since 1883 and remains unfinished.
It is on the UNESCO World Heritage List and was consecrated in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI, along with some of Gaudi’s other works.
