Architect Antoni Gaudí on the road to holiness, Paus confirms

The Vatican has put the Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí on the path to Sainthood as recognition for his “heroic virtues”.

Gaudí – who has been dubbed by some as “God’s architect” – is the designer of one of the most famous religious sites and tourist attractions of Spain, the unfinished Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona.

On Monday, the Vatican issued a statement that said that Pope Franciscus had authorized a decree that the architect born in Catalonia explained “respectfully”.

That is an early step towards a candidate for the holiness that is formally plagued by the Catholic Church in the Banonier.

It is the newest development in a decades of campaign to have Gaudí who was a pious Catholic, recognized as a saint.

The Archbishop of Barcelona, ​​Cardinal Juan Jose Omerella, called the news a “joy”.

“It is a recognition, not only from his architectural work, but also something more important,” he said, according to AFP News Agency.

The cardinal persecuted: “He tells you … in the midst of the difficulties of life, in the midst of work, in the midst of pain, in the midst of suffering, are destined to be saints.”

The usual formal process for someone to be explained that a saint would then be, keeps a step under full holiness in beat formation.

That is a category reserved for martyrs, those who are supposed to have lived a life of heroic values ​​and candidates who declares the church to have a holy reputation.

In the case of Gaudí, who died in 1926 after he was hit by a tram while walking to the church, the Vatican would probably require proof of a miracle that could be attributed to him after death to go with great.

Gaudí was born in 1852 and many of his most famous works continue to attract visitors to Barcelona, ​​where many of his legacy are located.

The Sagrada Familia Basilica has been under construction since 1883 and remains unfinished.

It was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, together with a few other works by Gaudi, and was inaugurated in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI.