The Sagrada Familia finishes the construction of the towers of the evangelists Mark and Luke at the end of the year

The Construction Board of the Sagrada Família has announced that the towers of the evangelists Mark and Luke will be finished at the end of the year. In a press conference they explained that they are in the final stretch of the construction of the temple focused on the erection of the six central towers. Regarding the Tower of Jesus, the tallest in the temple, they have explained that they are working with the intention that it will be completed in 2026. The temple has registered a "progressive" recovery after the pandemic and will close the year with 3.4 million visitors and revenues of 87 MEUR. Looking ahead to 2023, they hope to recover the figures of 2019 and exceed 102 MEUR with 4 million visitors. The basilica has presented the sculptures of the Lion and the Ox that will crown the tower of Mark and Luke.

As they have explained, as part of the set of central towers, the four towers of the Evangelists will surround the tower of Jesus and will be 135 meters high once completed. To identify which evangelist each tower represents, the towers end with the corresponding figure of the tetramorph, with the book and wings, figures that Christian iconography, art and architecture have used for centuries to represent evangelists.

The towers are divided into three parts: the base, the main body and the terminals. Each terminal, at the same time, is divided into three more parts: the shaft with the praises Amen and Alleluia, above an icosahedron with the spotlights that will illuminate the cross, and already at the top of the tower the figure corresponding to the tetramorph. The construction is based on dressed stone, like that used in the central towers, but without the reinforced concrete structure at the corners.

The four towers will have four tetramorph figures, the work of the sculptor Xavier Medina Campeny. They represent the narrators of the life of Jesus traditionally: a man or angel in Matthew's case, a lion in Mark's, an ox in Luke's and an eagle in John's.

The tetramorphs have upper wings that reach a height of 135 meters and can be easily distinguished from a distance. The wings are made with the latest regulated geometry used by Gaudí.

The Tower of Jesus will exceed 172 meters

As for the tower of Jesus, it will be the tallest in the temple with a height of 172.5 meters. Currently it has been raised and exceeds 126 meters. It will be a central tower crowned by a four-armed cross that will be 17 meters high and with arms 13.5 meters wide.

The technical team has specified that the execution project for the tower of Jesus Christ and the cross is being prepared with the intention of crowning the cross for the anniversary of the death of Antoni Gaudí and coinciding with the world capital of Barcelona with architecture.

In 2024, the date of the end of the works will be announced

In the case of the general construction of the temple, the construction board has not estimated when the work could be finished. They have acknowledged that the recovery after the pandemic and the increase in income "will help" but they have placed 2024 to announce the date of completion of the works.

The pending works

As they have explained, there are several pending works to complete the construction of the Sagrada Família. On the one hand there is the Façade of Glory, with the construction of the four complete towers, the Baptistery and the Chapel of Penitence. The construction of the roofs of the side and central naves will be restarted and the Chapel of the Assumption and the annexed cloister sections, the second sacristy and the tasks for the completion of the undergrounds and accesses will be pending.

On the other hand, they have explained that next month they will begin the restoration of the Nativity Facade. It will be the most important restoration work ever done on the temple.

15,000 people at the open house

This weekend the basilica will hold its annual open house. Tickets have been distributed to 15,000 people through a raffle open to all citizens. These will be able to visit the temple for free and see in person the sculptures of the tetramorph of Mark and Luke that will be on display in the material yard until September 25.