Sagrada Família deeply saddened by passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI - Sagrada Família deeply saddened by passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

The Executive Chairman of the Junta Constructora del Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família and members of the Board of Trustees are deeply saddened by the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

Everyone surely remembers when Pope Benedict XVI visited Barcelona on 6 and 7 November 2010 and, 128 years after the laying of the cornerstone, consecrated the Basilica of the Sagrada Família. In a mass held on 7 November that year, the Pope in his homily said these words, which we remember today:

“The Lord Jesus is the stone which supports the weight of the world, which maintains the cohesion of the Church and brings together in ultimate unity all the achievements of mankind. In him, we have God’s word and presence and from him the Church receives her life, her teaching and her mission. The Church of herself is nothing; she is called to be the sign and instrument of Christ, in pure docility to his authority and in total service to his mandate. The one Christ is the foundation of the one Church. He is the rock on which our faith is built. Building on this faith, let us strive together to show the world the face of God who is love and the only one who can respond to our yearning for fulfilment. This is the great task before us: to show everyone that God is a God of peace not of violence, of freedom not of coercion, of harmony not of discord.”

If we allow God into our hearts and into our world, if we allow Christ to live in our hearts, we will not regret it: we will experience the joy of sharing his very life, as the object of his infinite love.

We pray for his soul and appreciate all the good he did during his pontificate. We remember fondly his visit to Barcelona in 2010 to consecrate the Basilica and just as he opened the doors to Gaudí's Temple, we ask God to throw wide the doors of heaven and receive him in his Glory. Rest in peace.