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The Vatican has put Spanish architect Antoni Gaud\u00ed on the path to sainthood in recognition of his “heroic virtues”.<\/p>\n
Gaud\u00ed – who has been dubbed by some as “God’s architect” – is the designer of one of Spain’s most famous religious sites and tourist attractions, the unfinished Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona.<\/p>\n
On Monday, the Vatican issued a statement which said Pope Francis had authorised a decree declaring the Catalonia-born architect “venerable”.<\/p>\n
That is an early step on the road to a candidate for sainthood being formally canonised by the Catholic Church.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
It is the latest development in a decades-long campaign to have Gaud\u00ed, who was a devout Catholic, recognised as a saint.<\/p>\n
The Archbishop of Barcelona, Cardinal Juan Jose Omella, called the news a “joy”.<\/p>\n
“It is a recognition not only of his architectural work but something more important,” he said, according to AFP news agency.<\/p>\n
The cardinal continued: “He is saying you… amid life’s difficulties, amid work, amid pain, amid suffering, are destined to be saints.”<\/p>\n
The usual formal process for someone to be declared a saint would next involve beatification, one step short of full sainthood.<\/p>\n
That is a category reserved for martyrs, those deemed to have lived a life of heroic values and candidates who the Church declares to have a saintly reputation. <\/p>\n
In the case of Gaud\u00ed, who died in 1926 after being hit by a tram while walking to church, the Vatican would likely require proof of a miracle that could be attributed to him post-death in order to proceed with beatification.<\/p>\n
Gaud\u00ed was born in 1852 and many of his best known works continue to attract visitors to Barcelona, where much of his legacy is situated.<\/p>\n
The Sagrada Familia basilica has been under construction since 1883 and remains unfinished.<\/p>\n
It has been placed on Unesco’s World Heritage list, along with some of Gaudi’s other works, and was consecrated by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n