In 2026, coinciding with the centenary of Gaudí's death and the completion of the Sagrada Família Basilica, Correos (the Spanish postal service) issued a souvenir sheet dedicated to the Basilica, featuring the tower of Jesus Christ, the tallest tower of the temple, on the stamp.
The Sagrada Família is an exceptional temple, both in terms of its origin and foundation, and its purpose. The brainchild of the brilliant architect Antoni Gaudí, it was a project driven by and for the people, and five generations have witnessed the temple's evolution in Barcelona. Currently, more than 140 years after the laying of the first stone, the Basilica is still under construction.
The Sagrada Família Expiatory Temple Construction Board is a private, non-profit, autonomous canonical foundation whose purpose is the construction, conservation, and restoration of the Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Família, founded by Josep Maria Bocabella and designed by Antoni Gaudí. The temple is currently under construction in Barcelona, on the site bounded by Mallorca, Marina, Provença, and Sardenya streets.
The Sagrada Família, as an expiatory temple, has been built from its inception exclusively thanks to donations and contributions from thousands of people over the years.
On November 3, 1883, Gaudí accepted the commission for the construction of the Sagrada Família, which had been begun on March 19, 1882, by Francisco de Paula Villar. Gaudí completely modified the initial design, but it wasn't until 1915 that the temple became his masterpiece, the most famous and admired work in the world.
Gaudí was buried on June 12, 1926 in the Chapel of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the crypt of the Sagrada Familia, in the presence of a huge crowd that gathered to say goodbye to the man who had already become a universal architect.
