In Barcelona, Spain, 100 years ago on June 10, 1926, Venerable Antoni Gaudi died from injuries he sustained from being hit by a tram. He was 73 years old, just shy of his 74th birthday on June 25th. He had been to St. Philip Neri Church for confession and daily Mass and was walking back to work at the Sagrada Familia. The accident knocked him unconscious and he was taken to the old Santa Creu Hospital. Because of his disheveled look and tattered clothes, he was taken for a beggar. For the past several years he had been basically living at the Sagrada Familia, so dedicated as he was to the building of this “Cathedral of the Poor,” as it was commonly known. After a funeral that was attended by thousands, he is buried in the crypt level of the Basilica.
Widely known as the greatest exponent of Catalan Modernisme,
he is nicknamed “God’s Architect” and his cause for canonization as a saint is
underway. In April 2025 he was proclaimed “Venerable” by Pope Francis. Gaudi’s namesake
patron saint is St. Anthony of Padua, whose feast day is June 13th.
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