The Sagrada Família's finances: €135M turnover and 1,600 jobs

BarcelonaLa Sagrada Família is a Catholic church, a monument, and a tourist attraction. But it is also one of the economic engines of the city of Barcelona, both for the business it indirectly generates, for example through tourism, and also for its direct business volume, for the investments it makes, and for the jobs it creates. The figures are clear: in 2025, the basilica closed with generated income of 134.5 million euros. A turnover that has been growing in recent years.

And expenses last year were 113.5 million euros. In other words, the temple is economically sustainable, as it generates more income than expenses. It should be taken into account that of the income generated, the large bulk is the contributions from visitors: practically 97%. Income that could be higher, but the temple's management does not want to increase the number of visitors so as not to degrade the experience of those who go to the temple. More than 4.8 million visitors per year.

The basilica could still increase the number of annual visitors, but that is not the plan. "We have a ratio of 1,500 people per hour and there is no saturation, that is what we want to maintain," Xavier Martínez, general director of the Sagrada Família, explains to ARA. "We do not want to change this," he adds, concluding: "According to our self-protection plan, we could increase capacity, but we are at the threshold for a good experience".

If practically all income comes from visits, a little more than half of the expenses (51.7%, almost 59 million) are allocated to construction. The rest goes to management and general services, and 6.4% is allocated to the diocesan fund and 2.3% to the agreement that the temple board signed with the Barcelona City Council to compensate for the externalities it causes.

What is clear is that the 21st century has been one of great impetus for the works, especially after the pandemic. If during the 20th century most of the income was provided by donations and inheritances —it is an expiatory temple—, the post-Olympic tourist boom placed the Sagrada Familia at the tourist epicenter of Barcelona, with iconic images of the Olympic diving board with the temple in the background. In fact, in 2002 income stood at around 12 million euros, and in a quarter of a century it has multiplied by more than 10. Xavier Martínez highlights two factors. One, the increase in visitors. From just over two million annually at the beginning of the century to almost five million. The other factor is the improvement in ticket collection, which now ranges between 26 and 40 euros. "The way tickets are sold has been sophisticated," explains Martínez.

"What we want is to sell products, sell experiences," explains the general director, who adds that demand and the reasons that bring each visitor to the temple have been studied: architecture, faith, the history of Gaudí... "There are people who are more experiential, people who are more cultural, there are people who want to know Gaudí's work, and the products we offer are based on this demand." "Depending on the experience, the type of service, the product, there is a different price that has caused income to rise."

The great investment

Xavier Martínez is convinced that in ten years the Nativity facade, the last major element pending for the basilica after the central towers have been completed, could be finished. But he assures that this will entail a great investment effort. "We are investing between 50 and 70 million euros a year," he indicates. And for the Nativity facade, he says, the same amount will have to be invested for a decade. That is, about 600 million euros. An investment effort but "without debt," he emphasizes.

But not everything is investment in construction. Keeping the Sagrada Família open and operational has a cost. Between 10 and 15 million euros a year. Security, cleaning, maintenance... "Maintaining this is very expensive," explains Xavier Martínez, who recalls what they suffered during the confinement due to covid. Visits fell to zero, as did income. But when the basilica is completely finished, it will generate more resources than now because there will be no need to invest in construction. "We have seen cases of churches collapsing, great cathedrals, because there is no maintenance," explains the general director, who maintains that the Barcelona temple is being built "to last a thousand years" and, therefore, "it must be endowed with heritage so that it endures." Furthermore, the Social Action Fund must be endowed, because within the Gaudí philosophy there was already help for others and charity. In fact, Gaudí created schools for the children of workers. And this fund already has three calls, with 300 projects and 11 million euros in aid. In addition, the agreement with the City Council signed in 2020, for 36 million euros, will have to be renewed every ten years because it is related to the city's costs in mobility, security, and operation in the surrounding public space.

An important staff

La Sagrada Família also generates employment, directly and indirectly. To get an idea, between the temple in Barcelona and the two workshops where stone is processed, about 1,600 people work, counting both the temple's own staff, about 150 people, and the many who work exclusively for the temple but are contracted by external companies. "It's a significant workforce," says Martínez. "We're talking about managing visits with construction, you can get an idea of the management difficulty involved in all of this," he states. "The only effort I know of to make this viable," he explains, "is to manage it as a professionalized company at all levels."

Another problem is what will happen to subcontracted companies and suppliers when construction ends. "90% of the companies working on the construction have other activities outside of the Sagrada Família. Therefore, the impact should be minimal," explains the general director. Nevertheless, he acknowledges that there are trades that are only performed at the Sagrada Família, so in some cases continuity will be difficult.

As an expiatory temple, the Sagrada Família is legally structured as a canonical foundation and is financed by donations. This, of course, was during the 20th century, when donations and inheritances were the bulk of income. It still is, but in reality, the contribution for construction, the supposed donation, comes from ticket sales. Martínez makes it clear that there is no profit motive, "but this is not incompatible with professional management," which has been, he emphasizes, what has allowed the works to accelerate in recent years along with industrialization and technology applied to construction.

Martínez defends the temple's integration into the city. "We have opened up a lot. Last year, 200,000 people from Barcelona visited for free," he explains. "The Sagrada Família cannot be understood without the city, and the city cannot be understood without the Sagrada Família." And he adds: "In the end, a building like this, which is a universal symbol, costs not a single euro to the citizens of Barcelona or the administrations, because it is a private initiative."

The Sagrada Família is a temple open to worship and Martínez maintains that this essence cannot be lost. Is there a danger of dying of success? "We are very aware of it," he acknowledges. "We do not trivialize the brand. We could fall into the trap of using the brand for everything, but it is such a powerful brand that we protect it very carefully, precisely for that reason."