Sagrada Família congratulates Pope Leo XIV - Sagrada Família congratulates Pope Leo XIV

Robert Francis Prevost, born in Chicago in 1955, was appointed Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in 2023 and created Cardinal that same year. A member of the Order of Saint Augustine since 1977 and ordained a priest in 1982, Pope Francis appointed him Apostolic Administrator of the Peruvian Diocese of Chiclayo in 2014, where he was Bishop from 2015. He was also Apostolic Administrator of Callao and played an active role in the Episcopal Conference of Peru.

Over the years, the Sagrada Família has had a very good relationship with the various Popes. Ever since 1871, when the members of the Asociación Espiritual de Devotos de San José went on a pilgrimage to Rome, organised by founder Josep Maria Bocabella. In 1982, Pope John Paul II visited the Temple on his first official trip to Spain. In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI led the ceremony to consecrate the Sagrada Família, opening it for religious events. Years later, in December 2021, Pope Francis joined the central event to inaugurate the tower of the Virgin Mary on the feast of the Immaculate Conception. He did so by video just before the star was lit up for the first time. And in February 2024, the members of the Junta Constructora de la Basilica de la Sagrada Família visited the Pontiff at the Vatican, gifting him a miniature replica of the Basilica of the Sagrada Família.

The Junta Constructora del Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família hopes the new Pontiff gets the chance to visit the Basilica and see the most iconic project of Servant of God Antoni Gaudí.

Photo: © Vatican Media