So… the Sagrada Família is finally finished, right?
Well… nope, not exactly.
If you’ve seen the news lately, you probably heard that Barcelona’s Sagrada Família just hit its final height – yep, that part is true. In early 2026, they placed the giant glowing cross on top of the Tower of Jesus Christ, bringing the basilica to 172.5 meters, officially making it the tallest church in the world.
Big moment if you think about the fact that they started to build this church in 1882…
But here’s the thing: reaching the top doesn’t mean it’s finished.

Oh, before we continue… If you are coming to Barcelona in June, you might be lucky!
If everything goes as planned, on June 10, 2026 – around the 100th anniversary of Antoni Gaudí’s death – Pope Leo XIV is expected to hold a special mass at the Sagrada Família and bless the newly completed central tower.

Future works in the Sagrada Família

The inside of the Tower of Jesus Christ

It looks finished from afar, but it’s still a work in progress up close. They’re continuing interior construction for the next couple of years – like staircases, viewpoints, structural elements, all the stuff visitors don’t see just yet.

The side chapels

The Sagrada Família is still quietly evolving at ground level, too. Around the sides of the basilica, there are smaller chapels and sacristy spaces. Most people don’t even notice them because your eyes go straight to the towers… but they are there. Some are already there structurally, others are still being finished or decorated.

The Glory Façade

This is the main entrance Gaudí actually imagined as the grandest part of the whole basilica, with staircases, symbolic sculptures about heaven and hell, and basically the most epic entrance of any church on earth. – yet ironically, it’s the least finished. It’s still under construction and expected to take at least another decade or so…
BecaaAaauuUuuse… To actually build that entrance the way it was designed?
Well, they need space that doesn’t exist.
And this is where things get a tad complicated…

Right now, there are entire apartment blocks sitting exactly where the grand staircase is supposed to go.
Plans suggest demolishing multiple blocks along Carrer de Mallorca, but that’s affecting thousands of residents and businesses.
So yeah… this isn’t just an architectural project anymore…

It’s a full-on urban controversy – … and a bit of conspiracy too

There are basically two narratives:
1.: The staircase was always part of Gaudí’s vision, and the city even reserved space for it decades ago.
2.: No, it was never the plan. The original plans were destroyed during the Civil War, and what we’re seeing now might be plans by other architects, not Gaudí himself.

… And there are also some rumors going around saying that when those apartment buildings were sold decades ago, the original contract had a paragraph saying that if it ever came to finishing the Sagrada Familia, these buildings gonna be demolished.
So technically, the buyers were warned.
Also, the construction stalled so many times – wars, funding issues, delays – people stopped believing it would ever actually happen.

If you walk around that side of the basilica, you’ll actually see banners on buildings. There have been legal challenges, neighborhood groups forming, and years of back-and-forth with the city.
Officials admit it’ll likely end up in court soon, but residents are still fighting it.

Recent reports say the project is expected to move forward despite all the protests, and the construction team has openly said they believe the staircase will be built.

So when will it actually be finished?

Depends what you mean by “finished.”
By the late 2020s, the interiors and the chapels are expected to be wrapped up. Then, around 2030–2034, the controversial Glory Façade should be in place, along with the remaining sculptures and final decorative details. Some estimates say it’s well into another decade before everything is truly done.

When did they start building the Sagrada Família?

Construction officially started in 1882. Yep… And here we are now in 2026. – … I’ll let this sink in for a quick second.

At first, it wasn’t even Gaudí’s project. The original architect was Francisco de Paula del Villar, who planned a traditional church. But just one year later, in 1883, a young Antoni Gaudí took over – and basically said: hold my beer – I mean vino tinto – and let’s make this unreal, completely wild and unlike any church in the world.

The Sagrada Família had been in the making for nearly a century and a half, but why is it taking so long?
Well… It’s been funded mostly by donations, so progress wasn’t always steady.
Also, Gaudí kept evolving and changing the design through his life – …like, constantly. When he died in 1926, only the Nativity Façade was nearly complete – the rest was just a skeleton.
Then, during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) some of the original plans were destroyed, and that stopped everything for a while.
Even the modern construction technologies have really speed things up only in the last couple of decades…

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… and the work is still ongoing. Gaudí’s masterpiece isn’t just a building – it’s a living project, a dream that continues to take shape, century after century.

Walking around the Sagrada Família today, it’s easy to feel the presence of Antoni Gaudí’s genius in every detail – …everything carries his vision…

✨ Check out my other article to learn more about the secrets and hidden details of Sagrada Familia

Aaaanyways,

See you at the next one,

Noémi

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