Antoni Gaudí was a venerated architect. Now he may become a saint.

ROME — Pope Francis on Monday placed Antoni Gaudí, the Catalan modernist once called “God’s architect” for his work on the Sagrada Familia, Barcelona’s world-famous basilica, on the path to sainthood.

Francis recognized his “heroic virtues” and authorized a decree declaring him “venerable,” a move toward sainthood, the Vatican said in a statement. For the next step, beatification, a miracle attributed to him would have to be verified. After that, a confirmation of yet another miracle would be required for Gaudí to be declared a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. The process can take years, even centuries.

The basilica marked the pope’s decision by noting on its website that after Gaudí died at 73, a leading prelate at the time called him God’s architect, and that the Sagrada Familia “opens hearts to beauty with its beauty.”

Antoni Gaudí i Cornet was born on June 25, 1852, most likely in Reus, Spain. He moved years later to Barcelona, where he studied architecture, earning his degree in 1878. After working on some small projects, according to the basilica’s website, “he soon became one of the most sought-after architects and began taking on larger commissions.”

The Gaudi Foundation notes that his association with architect Joan Martorell i Montells brought Gaudí into contact with rich industrialist and prominent Barcelona figure Eusebio Güell, which “helped to engender many of the imperishable works” still admired today.

Construction of the Sagrada Familia began in 1882, and Gaudí took over the project a year later, when he was 31. He worked on the basilica for more than four decades, the last 12 years of his life exclusively. It remains unfinished.

Gaudí was hit by a tram in Barcelona on June 7, 1926, and taken to the city’s hospital for the poor because he was not recognized. He died three days later.

In 2010, the basilica was consecrated by Pope Benedict XVI, who described Gaudí, as “a creative architect and a practising Christian who kept the torch of his faith alight to the end of his life, a life lived in dignity and absolute austerity.”

“Gaudí, by opening his spirit to God, was capable of creating in this city a space of beauty, faith and hope, which leads man to an encounter with him who is truth and beauty itself,” Benedict said in 2010.

In announcing the decree, the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, which oversees the canonization process, described Gaudí as a faithful layman who, “moved by the yearning for union with the Lord,” led a “good spiritual and moral life above the ordinary.”

It added that Gaudí “offered to God the fruits of his own labor understood as a mission to make the people know and draw them closer to God, and made art a hymn of praise to the Lord.”

Cardinal Juan José Omella, the archbishop of Barcelona, said in a video statement on Monday that “it was a joy to receive the news” that Gaudí had been declared “venerable.” It was a recognition, he said, “not only of his architectural work, but of something more important than his holiness, that he is a man who was good.”

An association to promote Gaudí’s beatification was established in 1992, with the aim of achieving that goal “through the organization of lectures, exhibitions and publications; and to collect testimonies of favors granted by his intercession,” according to a book published by the association.

In 2023, the cause was submitted to the Vatican, and the Archdiocese of Barcelona became officially involved.

Not many artists have achieved saintly status. Some are prelates who also wrote poetry. One is an abbess who wrote musical compositions.

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