Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor, Barcelona

The Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica crowning Mount Tibidabo. Enric Sagnier i Villavecchia designed it, and his son Josep Maria Sagnier i Vidal completed the work. Construction continued from 1902 to 1961, giving the building a long, layered history.

The structure combines a stone crypt with the church above it, and the complex is associated with neo-Gothic and neo-Byzantine architecture. The crypt was built from 1903 to 1911, with mosaics, alabaster, sculpted Stations of the Cross, and a richly ornamented entrance. From here, the great stairways lead towards the church and the Sacred Heart figure that crowns the dome.

That imposing statue is by Josep Miret, made in 1950 to replace an earlier sculpture by Frederic Marès, destroyed in 1936. Its vertical sequence—from the crypt through the church to the figure—expresses ascent, purification, sacrifice, and atonement. Look at the entrance tympanum for sculptures of the Virgin of Mercy, Saint George, and Saint James, designed by Eusebi Arnau and carried out by Alfons Juyol. The result is both a place of worship and a carefully staged journey in stone, mosaic, and light.