‘God’s architect’ moves closer to sainthood: Pope declares Antoni Gaudí Venerable

Pope Francis has declared 19th-century architect Antoni Gaudí, who designed the Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona, Venerable, a crucial step on the path to canonisation. In an audience with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, the Pope recognised the heroic virtue of Gaudí, who lived from 1852 to 1926.