Tower of the Evangelist Luke, completed - Tower of the Evangelist Luke, completed

The tower of the Evangelist Luke has been crowned with the figure of the tetramorph that represents this Evangelist: a winged ox with a book.  This is the first of the two towers of the Evangelists scheduled to be completed in 2022. After the wings were put in place, the works focused on lifting the sculpture of the ox and the book into place. The group made up of these two elements stands roughly 4.50 metres tall.

The four towers of the Evangelists are part of the central group of towers, with the four figures of the tetramorph forming a sort of aureola around the tower of Jesus Christ and its cross. The figures of the tetramorph have been created by sculptor Xavier Medina Campeny and, according to Christian iconography, they represent the men who told the story of Jesus’ life: a man or an angel for Matthew, a lion for Mark, an ox for Luke and an eagle for John. 

The sculptures are made of Thassos marble, a white stone used since ancient times for Greek and Roman sculptures.  The Book of the Gospels that appears with each figure is made of the same material and features the abbreviations corresponding to each Evangelist in trencadís mosaic, in different shades of red.

In the coming days, work will turn to the tower of the Evangelist Mark, first putting on the wings, then the book and the lion figure. Over November and December, the scaffolding will gradually be removed from the two towers, exposing the pinnacle on each one.

These two towers will be lit up for the first time on 16 December, as the traditional Basilica of the Sagrada Família Christmas Concert lets out.