Diary: Finding Light in an Unlikely Place…
La Sagrada Familia
Antoni Gaudi’s Basílica de la Sagrada Família.
Respect
Religion is not in my vernacular. Raised with a “Do Unto Others” commandment I have ventured forth in the world with a kind heart, an open mind and a willingness to understand that we all have different views. Not practicing a religion doesn’t prevent me from respecting the religious beliefs of others. Irrespective of faith there is something glorious and profound when stepping into a church - I have admired them for their architecture and grandeur - although I have often felt the weight of my agnosticism when surrounded by the devout. Many churches have now become tourist meccas, which in turn may seem disheartening for the faithful, however some religious buildings can surprise the agnostic and deliver a spiritual enlightenment that is unexpected.
This happened to me when I stepped inside La Sagrada Familia. Years earlier I had the chance to see the outside of this remarkable architectural wonder on a trip to Barcelona but it was seventeen years later that I was able to step foot into Gaudi’s masterpiece.
A Space to Breathe
The moment I entered the air around me seemed to shift. No pictures can fill you with the same sense of wonderment and joy that this homage to religious devotion instils in you. Prisms of light of every colour bathe across the floor and walls as the sunlight streams through the incredible glass windows. Vast columns of faceted stone lead your eye up to the vaulted ceiling where they branch out like trees stretching towards the heavens, exploding into starbursts with floral motifs and light. I tilted my head back and drowned in the view and the gentle echos of my fellow visitors’ breath being taken away, quickly followed by deep sighs of appreciation. This place feels alive, as if it has a soul and heart which beats and hums like a native forest.
The joy that I felt in this moment absorbing this wondrous space moved me to tears…
“This glorious homage to Gaudi’s faith pressed on me gently and asked me to listen.”
Enlightenment
I’m not sure what it was, but I felt something spiritual. Not God necessarily, but a pull, a presence. Something enlightening. Maybe faith wasn’t about the doctrine and the demands but more about the feeling. This glorious homage to Gaudi’s faith pressed on me gently and asked me to listen.
Domus pulchra
A person of any religion could enter this space and feel its magnanimous power. It enlightens the soul and is a place for everyone, regardless of faith. And it is just so breathtakingly beautiful.
It is incredible to think that in 1883 a single visionary artist/architect could deviate from the original design of the church (which had started construction a year earlier) and conceptualise this Temple of such grand scope and ambition. Yet here I was, fortunate to witness his vision over 140 years later and wanting to spend more time in his presence…
Gràcies Gaudi
After our two hours of calmly taking in the flora and fauna details of carved bronze doors, refractions of light in a rainbow of colours, souring ceilings of wonderment and the grandness of scale that can only be seen to be believed I walked outside into the bright Barcelona morning. Cars and people were speeding past and I could see the queues of people waiting outside to also have their fill of this incredible space. But even though I had stepped back into the real world I felt something inside me had forever changed.
This piece is part of a series of articles about a trip to London, Paris, Turin, Venice, and Barcelona. You can read more in my published articles: "Chasing the Light," "Perfume and Memories," "A Night at the Palais Garnier," and the hotel review "Hotel Le Lapin Blanc."
