Safety concerns over Barcelona church awaiting Benedict XVI (Feature)

By Sinikka Tarvainen Oct 27, 2010, 3:06 GMT

Madrid - When Pope Benedict XVI visits Spain on November 6-7, the highlights of his trip will include consecrating the Sagrada Familia, one of the world's most original churches, which has been under construction for over a century.

However, when the pontiff celebrates mass in the Barcelona basilica designed by visionary architect Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926), the ground beneath the building could be slightly unstable.

'It will take time for the subsoil to settle' after the passage more than a week ago of a machine which opened a tunnel for a high-speed rail line, a representative of a board overseeing the church's construction told the German Press Agency dpa.

The high-speed train known as AVE will pass on the other side of a security wall located at just 75 centimetres from the foundations of the Sagrada Familia, the board representative, who asked not to be named, said in a telephone interview.

'We don't expect the recent passage of the tunnelling machine to cause security problems during the pope's visit,' she said.

Yet in the longer term, the plan to make the AVE pass so close to the Sagrada Familia is arousing safety concerns which have put the board - chaired by an archbishop - at odds with the Barcelona city council.

The construction of the Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) was launched in 1882 by an association of believers. Gaudi died after being hit by a tram in 1926, leaving his masterpiece to be finished by future generations.

The Sagrada Familia is financed entirely by donations and entry fees - one of the reasons why its construction has lasted so long.

The interior of the church - known by local people as a 'temple' - will be largely finished by the time the pope comes to Barcelona, making it possible to consecrate it as a basilica.

The airy, forest-like building imitates nature, with plant and animal shapes, undulating walls and strangely swelling spires that seem to live and breathe.

The Sagrada Familia is one of Spain's top tourist sights, with 2.3 million people visiting it in 2009.

Architects and craftsmen have raced against the clock to have the roof, the floor, the main stained glass windows, the baldachin and the 1,492-tube organ completed before Benedict XVI enters the temple to celebrate a mass before some 7,000 believers.

Cranes will still be seen outside the church as a sign that a lot of work remains to be done. The Sagrada Familia, which will feature 18 spires and three main facades, is not expected to be entirely finished until 2025.

The pope will be informed about the construction of the new rail line which has sparked controversy.

The AVE - the pride of the Spanish transport system - has circulated on the line between Madrid and Barcelona since 2008, and the government now wants to extend that line from Barcelona to the French side of the border by 2012.

The Catalan regional and Barcelona city authorities' decision to make the AVE pass just beside the Sagrada Familia has fuelled concern that the constant vibrations produced by a train racing at some 200 kilometres an hour could affect the temple's stability.

About 60 per cent of Catalans do not want the AVE line to be located near the Sagrada Familia, according to a 2007 poll.

Critics say planners could have chosen other routes, but the authorities counter that these would have passed close to housing.

The board overseeing the construction of the Sagrada Families has called for a suspension of the construction of the rail line.

However, the Spanish government sided with the regional authorities, stressing that changes to the current plans would delay finishing the AVE line by several years.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which watches over the Sagrada Familia as one of its World Heritage Sites, said in July that the high-speed train did not put the temple in danger.

However, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee also said independent experts needed to supervise the construction of the tunnel, which should be halted at the slightest sign of danger.

UNESCO technicians are currently measuring the vibrations that would be created by the AVE, the construction board representative said.

A legal complaint against the high-speed rail route is also waiting to be resolved by Spain's National Court.

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