Pope Francis on Monday put the
architect of Barcelona's iconic Sagrada Familia cathedral,
Antonio Gaudi, on the path to sainthood by recognising his
"heroic virtues" and proclaiming him "venerable", the first step
on the way to becoming a Roman Catholic saint.
It was the first such act since the 88-year-old Argentine
pontiff left hospital recently after five weeks battling
life-threatening pneumonia.
Gausi, who died after a tram hit him in 1926 at the age of 74,
designed the Modernist masterpiece in 1883 and after the First
World War dedicated all his energies to it, retiring from a life
as a dandy and socialite to spend his last years in Catholic
devotion.
It is still being completed.
Gaudi's case for sainthood was initiated by Barcelona's
archbishop in 1998 and was sent to the Vatican in 2003.
Being proclaimed venerable is the first rung on the sainthood
ladder, before beatification, for which more virtues must be
attested, and canonisation, for which two mirackles are needed,
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
