"Majestic": global rain of praise for the Sagrada Familia show

The visit of Leo XIV to Catalonia and, especially, the spectacular blessing of the tallest tower of the Sagrada Família, have placed Barcelona at the center of much attention worldwide. The ten minutes of spectacle, with choir, lights, and drones in the sky, have drawn attention to Antoni Gaudí's temple, an architect who is, from today and if possible, a little more global.

The covers of the international press highlight this Wednesday evening's ceremony at the Sagrada Família, where the pontiff presided not only over a mass but also a whole spectacle to bless the central tower of the basilica, the tower of Jesus, all of it the culmination of a journey that has taken him the last two days to other emblematic sites in the country, such as the abbey of Montserrat on Wednesday morning.

The New York Times reports on the Pope's blessing ceremony, but also focuses on the debate surrounding the temple and its urban environment, and reports on the conflict with neighbors over possible necessary demolitions to complete the façade of Glory. CNN highlights the symbolic dimension of the Sagrada Família as a world icon of Barcelona and Gaudí's architecture. NBC News covers the event and describes it as a "ceremony of high visual and architectural impact".

In the United Kingdom, BBC and The Guardian have focused on the influx of people and the symbolism of the visit. The BBC particularly highlights the visual component of the spectacle after the mass and the international projection of images of the Sagrada Familia illuminated.

The Italian newspaper La Repubblica speaks of a "majestic spectacle" in Barcelona and highlights the ceremony within the temple and Gaudí's role. Corriere della Sera also focuses on the drone images and the staging of the event, especially the projection of Gaudí's face in the sky. In France, media outlets such as Le Monde, Le Figaro, and Libération have highlighted the Pope's message against war and also the urban and tourist tensions surrounding the Sagrada Familia.

Beyond the media, praise has also poured in from across the country, from the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, who experienced the event live, to the President of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who surrendered to the beauty of the visual spectacle.

The pope and Catalan

Regarding language, several international media outlets have highlighted that the Pope used Catalan during some moments of the trip. In fact, Reuters explicitly reports this and links it to a gesture towards local identity, pointing out that the pontiff once again used Catalan as a language of closeness in a territory with its own identity within Spain: "«Dear brothers and sisters, Leo opened his ⁠homily in Catalan, evoking the region's distinct cultural and political character".