Thursday, October 28, 2010

Architect of Barcelona's Church of Holy Family could be beatified in 2016

The Association for the Beatification of Antoni Gaudi stated this week that the architect could possibly be beatified in 2016.  

The date would coincide with the 90th anniversary of his death.

The association said Gaudi, the architect who designed Barcelona's Church of the Holy Family, could be beatified on June 10, 2016, after the association presents a 1,200 page biography on the architect in Rome next spring. 

The author of the biography, Josep Maria Tarragona, noted during a press conference that the document will be used by the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints to determine if Gaudi’s devotion and the miracles that have taken place through his intercession are sufficient for his beatification.

Two miracles cited in the biography have yet to be examined by the Vatican congregation.  

The first surrounds the cure of Spanish man from Canet de Mar who suffered from stomach ulcers.  

The second is related to the case of a woman from the town of Reus, Spain who lost her sight but later regained it after praying for Gaudi's intercession. 

The association noted that the Pope's Nov. 7 visit to Barcelona to dedicate Gaudi's Church of the Holy Family will not accelerate the architect's cause for beatification.

SIC: CNA/INT'L