Barcelona’s iconic Sagrada Familia cathedral is one step closer to completion with the final evangelist towers completed.

After over 140 years, the five central towers of Barcelona’s renowned Sagrada Familia basilica have finally been completed.

Once the sixth and final central tower is finished in 2026, the long-awaited construction of the church, which started in 1882, will be complete.

The design of the church was led by renowned Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, who envisioned 18 massive, spindle-shaped towers, each representing a different biblical figure—the 12 apostles, the four evangelists, the Virgin Mary, and Jesus.

On Wednesday, the final sculptural piece was added to the tower of Matthew the Evangelist, and the following day, the tower of John the Evangelist was crowned with an eagle figure, as reported by the Basílica de la Sagrada Família.

"The four Evangelist towers are complete! We’ll soon be celebrating this major milestone in the building’s history!" the church declared in a Facebook post on Friday.

An inauguration mass will be held at the cathedral on November 12, when the four Evangelist towers will be lit up. They will remain illuminated until Christmas, according to the church.

The church also revealed that last year, the towers of Mark and Luke were topped with statues of a lion and a fox, respectively.

The four Evangelist towers rise to a height of 135 meters (about 443 feet).

In December 2021, a large 12-pointed star was placed atop the 138-meter (453-foot) tower of the Virgin Mary, marking its completion.

The final tower, representing Jesus Christ, will stand at 172.5 meters (566 feet) and be topped with a 17-meter (56-foot) four-armed cross, according to the cathedral.

A massive undertaking

The grand structure is designed to hold around 13,000 people.

When Gaudí passed away in 1926, only about 10-15% of the project had been completed, including one transept, a crypt, and parts of the apse wall.

Construction, already progressing slowly, was halted in the late 1930s due to the Spanish Civil War, which led to the destruction of most of Gaudí's designs and models—Gaudí himself is buried beneath the cathedral.

Today’s designs are based on the surviving materials and models, as well as creative reinterpretations of Gaudí’s original vision.

In 1984, the building was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site, and in 2010, Pope Benedict XVI consecrated it for religious services.

The church’s construction was carried out without legal permits for 137 years, until 2019 when Barcelona’s city council finally issued a building permit. Authorities only uncovered this “anomaly” in 2016 when they realized no planning permission had ever been granted.

Once completed, the Sagrada Familia will become the tallest church in the world, surpassing Ulm Minster in Germany.