Spain’s Sagrada Familia reaches full height 144 years after first stone laid

Barcelona’s towering Sagrada Familia basilica reached its maximum height on Friday, though the magnum opus of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi remains years away from completion.A crane placed the upper arm of a cross atop the Tower of Jesus Christ, the church’s soaring central piece, which now stands 172.5 metres (566 feet) above the city.A swarm of tourists craned their necks to see the instalment of the 7-metre-high white cross’s upper arm, visible amid the scaffolding and workers who put finishing touches from their harnesses.“Today was a day we had been eagerly awaiting. Everything has gone well, very well,” head architect Jordi Fauli told reporters.With Friday’s addition, the Sagrada Familia inched closer to being done. The unfinished monument became the world’s tallest church last year after another part of its central tower was lifted into place.People watch as a crane lifts the upper arm of the cross onto the Tower of Jesus Christ on Friday. Photo: APThe first stone of the Sagrada Familia was placed in 1882, but Gaudi never expected it to be completed in his lifetime. Only one of its 18 towers was finished when he died at the age of 73 in 1926, after being hit by a tram.