(November, 07, 2010) Pope Benedict, who is on a two-day pilgrimage to Spain celebrated
Sunday Mass at the “Sagrada Familia” Church in Barcelona declaring it a minor basilica.
.Below is a text of his homily Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord, “This
day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep. … The joy of the Lord is your
strength” (Neh 8:9-11). With these words from the first reading that we have proclaimed,
I wish to greet all of you taking part in this celebration. I extend an affectionate
greeting to their Majesties the King and Queen of Spain who have graciously wished
to be with us. I extend a thankful greeting to Cardinal Lluís Martínez Sistach, Archbishop
of Barcelona, for his words of welcome and for his invitation to me to dedicate this
Church of the Sagrada Familia, a magnificent achievement of engineering, art and faith.
I also greet Cardinal Ricardo María Carles Gordó, Archbishop Emeritus of Barcelona,
the other Cardinals present and my brother bishops, especially the auxiliary bishop
of this local church, and the many priests, deacons, seminarians, religious men and
women, and lay faithful taking part in this solemn ceremony. I also extend a respectful
greeting to the national, regional and local authorities present, as well as to the
members of other Christian communities, who share in our joy and our grateful praise
of God. Today marks an important step in a long history of hope, work and generosity
that has gone on for more than a century. At this time I would like to mention each
and every one of those who have made possible the joy that fills us today, from the
promoters to the executors of this work, the architects and the workers, all who in
one way or another have given their priceless contribution to the building of this
edifice. We remember of course the man who was the soul and the artisan of this project,
Antoni Gaudí, a creative architect and a practising Christian who kept the torch of
his faith alight to the end of his life, a life lived in dignity and absolute austerity.
This event is also in a certain sense the high point of the history of this land of
Catalonia which, especially since the end of the nineteenth century, has given an
abundance of saints and founders, martyrs and Christian poets. It is a history of
holiness, artistic and poetic creation, born from the faith, which we gather and present
to God today as an offering in this Eucharist. The joy which I feel at presiding
at this ceremony became all the greater when I learned that this shrine, since its
beginnings, has had a special relationship with Saint Joseph. I have been moved above
all by Gaudí’s confidence when, in the face of many difficulties, filled with trust
in divine Providence, he would exclaim, “Saint Joseph will finish this church”. So
it is significant that it is also being dedicated by a Pope whose baptismal name is
Joseph. What do we do when we dedicate this church? In the heart of the world,
placed before God and mankind, with a humble and joyful act of faith, we raise up
this massive material structure, fruit of nature and an immense achievement of human
intelligence which gave birth to this work of art. It stands as a visible sign of
the invisible God, to whose glory these spires rise like arrows pointing towards absolute
light and to the One who is Light, Height and Beauty itself. In this place, Gaudí
desired to unify that inspiration which came to him from the three books which nourished
him as a man, as a believer and as an architect: the book of nature, the book of sacred
Scripture and the book of the liturgy. In this way he brought together the reality
of the world and the history of salvation, as recounted in the Bible and made present
in the liturgy. He made stones, trees and human life part of the church so that all
creation might come together in praise of God, but at the same time he brought the
sacred images outside so as to place before people the mystery of God revealed in
the birth, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In this way, he brilliantly
helped to build our human consciousness, anchored in the world yet open to God, enlightened
and sanctified by Christ. In this he accomplished one of the most important tasks
of our times: overcoming the division between human consciousness and Christian consciousness,
between living in this temporal world and being open to eternal life, between the
beauty of things and God as beauty. Antoni Gaudí did this not with words but with
stones, lines, planes, and points. Indeed, beauty is one of mankind’s greatest needs;
it is the root from which the branches of our peace and the fruits of our hope come
forth. Beauty also reveals God because, like him, a work of beauty is pure gratuity;
it calls us to freedom and draws us away from selfishness. We have dedicated
this sacred space to God, who revealed and gave himself to us in Christ so as to be
definitively God among men. The revealed Word, the humanity of Christ and his Church
are the three supreme expressions of his self-manifestation and self-giving to mankind.
As says Saint Paul in the second reading: “Let each man take care how he builds.
For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ”
(1 Cor 3:10-11). The Lord Jesus is the stone which supports the weight of the world,
which maintains the cohesion of the Church and brings together in ultimate unity all
the achievements of mankind. In him, we have God’s word and presence and from him
the Church receives her life, her teaching and her mission. The Church of herself
is nothing; she is called to be the sign and instrument of Christ, in pure docility
to his authority and in total service to his mandate. The one Christ is the foundation
of the one Church. He is the rock on which our faith is built. Building on this
faith, let us strive together to show the world the face of God who is love and the
only one who can respond to our yearning for fulfilment. This is the great task before
us: to show everyone that God is a God of peace not of violence, of freedom not of
coercion, of harmony not of discord. In this sense, I consider that the dedication
of this church of the Sagrada Familia is an event of great importance, at a time in
which man claims to be able to build his life without God, as if God had nothing to
say to him. In this masterpiece, Gaudí shows us that God is the true measure of man;
that the secret of authentic originality consists, as he himself said, in returning
to one’s origin which is God. Gaudí, by opening his spirit to God, was capable of
creating in this city a space of beauty, faith and hope which leads man to an encounter
with him who is truth and beauty itself. The architect expressed his sentiments in
the following words: “A church [is] the only thing worthy of representing the soul
of a people, for religion is the most elevated reality in man”. This affirmation
of God brings with it the supreme affirmation and protection of the dignity of each
and every man and woman: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple? … God’s temple
is holy, and you are that temple” (1 Cor 3:16-17). Here we find joined together the
truth and dignity of God and the truth and dignity of man. As we consecrate the altar
of this church, which has Christ as its foundation, we are presenting to the world
a God who is the friend of man and we invite men and women to become friends of God.
This is what we are taught in the case of Zacchaeus, of whom today’s gospel speaks
(Lk 19:1-10), if we allow God into our hearts and into our world, if we allow Christ
to live in our hearts, we will not regret it: we will experience the joy of sharing
his very life, as the object of his infinite love. This church began as an initiative
of the Association of the Friends of Saint Joseph, who wanted to dedicate it to the
Holy Family of Nazareth. The home formed by Jesus, Mary and Joseph has always been
regarded as a school of love, prayer and work. The promoters of this church wanted
to set before the world love, work and service lived in the presence of God, as the
Holy Family lived them. Life has changed greatly and with it enormous progress has
been made in the technical, social and cultural spheres. We cannot simply remain
content with these advances. Alongside them, there also need to be moral advances,
such as in care, protection and assistance to families, inasmuch as the generous and
indissoluble love of a man and a woman is the effective context and foundation of
human life in its gestation, birth, growth and natural end. Only where love and faithfulness
are present can true freedom come to birth and endure. For this reason the Church
advocates adequate economic and social means so that women may find in the home and
at work their full development, that men and women who contract marriage and form
a family receive decisive support from the state, that life of children may be defended
as sacred and inviolable from the moment of their conception, that the reality of
birth be given due respect and receive juridical, social and legislative support.
For this reason the Church resists every form of denial of human life and gives its
support to everything that would promote the natural order in the sphere of the institution
of the family. As I contemplate with admiration this sacred space of marvellous
beauty, of so much faith-filled history, I ask God that in the land of Catalonia new
witnesses of holiness may rise up and flourish, and present to the world the great
service that the Church can and must offer to humanity: to be an icon of divine beauty,
a burning flame of charity, a path so that the world may believe in the One whom God
has sent (cf. Jn 6:29). Dear brothers and sisters, as I dedicate this splendid
church, I implore the Lord of our lives that, from this altar, which will now be anointed
with holy oil and upon which the sacrifice of the love of Christ will be consumed,
there may be a flood of grace and charity upon the city of Barcelona and its people,
and upon the whole world. May these fruitful waters fill with faith and apostolic
vitality this archdiocesan Church, its pastors and its faithful. [In Catalan:]
Finally, I wish to commend to the loving protection of the Mother of God, Mary Most
Holy, April Rose, Mother of Mercy, all who enter here and all who in word or deed,
in silence and prayer, have made this possible this marvel of architecture. May Our
Lady present to her divine Son the joys and tribulations of all who come in the future
to this sacred place so that here, as the Church prays when dedicating religious buildings,
the poor may find mercy, the oppressed true freedom and all men may take on the dignity
of the children of God. Amen.