POPE Leo XIV will tonight hold his first mass at Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia, blessing the basilica’s towering new spire on the 100th anniversary of Antoni Gaudi’s death.
The 7.30pm service inaugurates the Tower of Jesus Christ, which at 172.5 metres makes the Sagrada Familia the tallest church in the world.
It is the centrepiece of the Pope’s final day in Catalunya, and a moment Barcelona has waited more than 140 years for.
The basilica’s first stone was laid in 1882 under Pope Leo XIII. His namesake now returns to crown it.
But before the evening mass, Leo XIV has a packed day across the city and its outskirts. Here is where to catch him.
His first stop comes at 10.50am at Brians 1 prison in Sant Esteve Sesrovires, west of Barcelona.
There he meets around 80 inmates drawn from three Catalan jails, including women prisoners, in a closed 20-minute service.
The Pope then heads up to the mountain monastery of Montserrat, where at 12pm he leads the rosary inside the basilica.
The Escolania de Montserrat, one of Europe’s oldest boys’ choirs, will sing the Salve and the Virolai.
He returns to Barcelona in the afternoon.
At around 4.30pm he visits the parish of Sant Agusti in the Raval, meeting some 90 charities that work with the city’s poorest.
Then comes the Sagrada Familia.
The mass begins at 7.30pm, with the blessing of the new Tower of Jesus Christ the historic high point.
The Pope’s visit has entailed a large degree of transport disruption within the city.
Metro lines L2 and L5 will skip Sagrada Familia station entirely, and the stop stays shut all day.
Verdaguer station on the L4 will open for exits only at peak times.
A wide security perimeter around the basilica closes the Diagonal, Carrer Rossello and dozens of surrounding streets to traffic and parking.
Authorities are urging anyone heading to the events to travel on foot or by public transport, arrive early and brace for crowds.
Rodalies and the metro are laying on extra services, with up to 33,000 places an hour pushed towards the Sagrada Familia for the evening.
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