Antoni Gaudi – Architect and Faithful Catholic

I mentioned a few days ago how much I loved the feature Blessed Among Us from the daily Catholic devotional Give Us This Day.  I wanted to share another one of those persons in a reflection today. Antoni Gaudi (1852 – 1926) was a celebrated architect who lived in Spain. As a young man, he lived a rather flashy lifestyle.  I would call his architectural style whimsical.  In my three visits to Spain, I marvel at his architecture.  Gaudi built the episcopal palace in the town of Astorga to be the residence of the bishop.  His friend, the bishop there at the time, commissioned him to build a new residence when the old one burned down in the late 19^th century.  Most of Gaudi’s projects are located in the Catalan region of Eastern Spain.  I love the wonderful Park Güell that Gaudi designed for the aristocracy in Barcelona.  It was the Church of the Holy Family (Sagrada Familia) that is Gaudi’s crowning glory and an expressing of his Catholic Faith.  That church, even though it is still unfinished, has been named a basilica and has brought many visitors to experience its beauty. Gaudi started attending daily mass and dressed as a humble laborer while working on that church.   Gaudi died on June 10, 1926, after having been struck by a street car.  He has been proposed as a candidate for canonization.