Of the tens of thousands of tourists who visit the Sagrada Familia every year, most probably stop to wonder only if this Modernist fantasy will ever be finished.
But for a small band of devotees, Antoni Gaudí’s famous work in progress raises another question: is it proof enough he should be remembered as more than a virtuoso architect?
Campaigners believe ‘God’s architect’, as he is known, deserves to receive the ulimate accolade – sainthood
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Last month, the Vatican took delivery of papers which a dedicated group of supporters believe will prove their case.
The positio is an autobiography with a difference. Instead of being a list of dates and achievements of Gaudí’s life, it demonstrates – campaigners hope – how he could call out to God on behalf of others.
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They must convince Archbishop Angelo Amato that the obsessively pious architect, who died 83 years ago, should join that most exclusive of clubs.
Monsignor Amato is prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the body which recommend mere mortals for sainthood. From there, Pope Benedict XVI has the final say.
The delivery of the positio is the latest stage in a long-runing campaign to raise Gaudí’s status to a higher plane.
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The Association for the Beatification of Gaudí (ABG) has spent 27 years gathering up to 80,000 supporters from around the world.
The positio, which will be examined by Vatican theologians, contains details of how Gaudi called out to non-believers. A large cross on Casa Battlo, one of Gaudí’s landmark buildings, was proof, say supporters, that he was on a mission from God.
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Similarly, images of the Virgin, on La Pedrera, another tourist attraction in Barcelona, are more proof Gaudí was sending a message to non-believers.
In 2003, Cardinal Ricard Maria Carles, the former archbishop of Barcelona, sent documents recommending the beatfication of Gaudí to the Vatican as part of the campaign.
“Can anyone acquainted with [Gaudí’s] work believe that all which one contemplates could possibly have been produced only by cold thought?” he said.
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Jose Manuel Almuzara, 57, president of ABG, is confident the Vatican has already been won over.
“I don’t know if I will see this happen in my life but that’s not important,” he said.
“The rise in Gaudí’s faith was equalled through his works. He used them to convert people over to God. We have testimony from many people saying his works have influenced them towards a religious life.”
Ana Martinez Ruiz, from Barcelona, said: “My son-in-law was unemployed and I prayed at Gaudi’s grave asked him to tell God to find him a job. He heard my prayer and after a few days, my son-in-law found a job.”
Monica Appel, a mother-of-three, from Chile, claimed after giving a picture of Gaudi to a friend, her jobless husband found work and a tumour was removed by doctors without leaving any scars.
Mr Almuzara, like thousands of others, prays for Gaudí to intercede with God for him. He believes his image should be placed alongside the other saints on the Sagrada Familia.
Gaudi was deeply religious. He nibbled scraps of bread and sought alms for the building of the Sagrada Familia.
When he was hit by a tram in Barcelona’s Gran Via in 1926, he was so dishevelled taxi drivers refused to take him to hospital, believing he was a tramp. He died days later in a paupers’ hospital, after his friends had at first failed to recognise him.
Gaudi’s suitability for sainthood, however, rests on whether the Vatican accepts as genuine any miracles attributed to him.
Mr Almuzara does not pretend his hero saved a falling workman who fell of one of the many cranes surrounding the Sagrada Famila.
“We think the Vatican could make Gaudi into a venerable,” he says.
Being declared “Venerable” is the first of three steps to Sainthood, and for this, the Vatican examines evidence of holiness in the life of the candidate for sainthood. Two miracles are required before Gaudi may be declared a saint.