On Wednesday, June 10, Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass at the Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona. The event, part of his week-long visit to Spain, marked the 100th anniversary of the death of Antoni Gaudí. The pope also inaugurated the tower of Jesus Christ, the tallest part of the edifice. On this special occasion, he also received a unique gift: a Gaudí-inspired crozier crafted by Joan Serramià, a sculptor who is a distant relative of Antoni Gaudí, from the town of Riudoms.
“I always have a connection with Gaudí, but I’ve experienced it especially with this crozier,” Serramià told Aleteia. “I made it with absolute respect. Symbolically, it’s very powerful. I have feelings I’ve never experienced before.”
Antoni Gaudí’s grandfather was the brother of Serramià’s great-great-grandfather. “Since I was little, the sole topic of conversation during family dinners was always Gaudí,” he recalls.
Serramià says he has always kept Gaudí in mind, and his art is especially inspired by the famous architect and his disciple, Josep Maria Jujol.
He considers it “an honor” to create this pastoral staff, which he designed to pay tribute to the mastermind behind the Sagrada Familia basilica. “Making something like this for the pope is the ultimate achievement. It’s like a dream,” he notes.
The crozier borrows three major features from the Sagrada Familia basilica:
1Base and crown
One of the first things Gaudí created when he started building the basilica was a stone turtle to be included in the Nativity facade, Serramià explains. For this reason, he placed a turtle figure at the base of the crozier.
At the pinnacle of the Sagrada Familia is the cross that crowns the Tower of Jesus Christ, which Pope Leo XIV blessed on Wednesday. An identical Gaudí-style cross sits at the top of the staff.
This cross, which also crowns other buildings designed by Gaudí, is inspired by cypress cones that open up in a similar way once they fall to the ground.
2Deeply symbolic
Much like the Sagrada Familia basilica itself, “the crozier is highly symbolic,” Serramià explains.
For example, he incorporated woods from various continents to express the universal nature of both Gaudí and the Catholic Church. He also included four stones from Mas de la Calderera, a rural property linked to the architect’s childhood.
He also used noble materials, including silver, for the clasps holding the cross. Their shapes are inspired by the clouds on the Sagrada Familia’s Nativity facade.
3Funded by the people
Just as the people paid for the towering church—which is now the most visited monument in Spain—the crozier was financed through crowdfunding.
“It was paid for by everyone in the region, even though some businessmen wanted to pay for it all at once,” Serramià notes.
He only asked for money to cover his expenses, not his labor. Embracing the spirit inherited from his illustrious ancestor, who worked and lived for God, he says, “You can’t pay for this with money.”
