Pope honors Barcelona's sacred monuments on death centenary of Sagrada Familia designer Gaudí

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Pope Leo XIV honored Barcelona’s most sacred and beautiful monuments Wednesday by first leading a noontime prayer at a mountain-top abbey, hours before he was due to give an evening Mass at the famed Sagrada Familia Basilica on the centenary of the death of its architect, Antoni Gaudí.

The celebration of Barcelona's Christian traditions, past and present, marked the highlight of Leo's weeklong visit to Spain, the first by a pope in 15 years to a once staunchly-Catholic European country that like many others has experienced secularizing trends.

The trip, though, has underscored how the country of 50 million people, which experienced a religious crisis after its 20th-century dictatorship ended, still has plenty of faithful Catholics who have turned out in droves to welcome the American pope.

Leo celebrated their centuries-old tradition of popular piety by praying at Montserrat, a mountain complex outside the city that is dear to many Catalans. The complex, which includes an 11th-century Benedictine abbey and a 16th-century basilica, is revered for its Black Madonna statue and is home to a boy's choir that has existed since the 13th century and is Europe's oldest.

Thousands of faithful arrived early at the monastery, with groups of nuns and schoolchildren singing and waving signs and photographs of the pope outside the basilica. Bells rang out over the spire-like rock formations that top Montserrat and the valley below as Leo arrived in a golf cart.

In his remarks to the faithful in the abbey, Leo said that Montserrat for centuries has been a place of peace and reconciliation in a world marked by violence, “criticism that humiliates, condemnation that destroys and aggression that divides.” He urged Spaniards to follow in the “path of mercy, reconciliation, truth and gentleness.”

In recent years, the Montserrat abbey has faced numerous accusations from survivors of clergy sexual abuse and was included in the Spanish ombudsman’s 800-page report on the crisis in 2023. The report found 15 victims and three alleged perpetrators linked to the abbey.

“It’s very painful because there are members of the church who committed errors,” said the Rev. Cesario Escarda, a Toledo priest, as he waited for Leo at the abbey. “What the pope wants to do is shine a light on the truth and ask forgiveness and bring in the victims and listen to them and accompany them.”

The highlight of Leo’s visit was expected to be his Mass on Wednesday evening in Barcelona at Sagrada Familia. The Mass commemorates the 100th anniversary of the death of its designer, Gaudí, who died at age 73 three days after he was hit by a tram.

A century after construction began during the pontificate of Leo’s namesake, Pope Leo XIII, the basilica has become one of the world’s most visited but unfinished monuments, annually drawing upward of 5 million visitors a year.

Gaudí, the famed Catalan architect who is on the path to possible sainthood, spent four decades designing and building the temple as the summary of the Christian faith carved in stone. The most important stories of Jesus’ life, the Nativity and Passion, are etched into the basilica’s east and west facades. A third facade facing south, the Glory, will serve as the basilica’s main entrance when finished.

The temple is an architectural and geometrical masterpiece inside and out, a celebration in form and symbol of Christianity and God’s creation through stone and light, based on the architectural tradition of Byzantine and Gothic churches.

A total of 18 sandcastle spires rise up from the top and pierce Barcelona’s skyline: 12 to symbolize Christ’s 12 apostles, four for each of the four Evangelists who recorded Christ’s life in the Gospels, one topped with a star over the apse honoring the Virgin Mary and, tallest among them, the Tower of Jesus Christ.

When the final Christ tower was finished last year at a height of 172½ meters (564 feet), it made Sagrada Familia the world’s tallest church. Leo will formally consecrate the tower on Wednesday night.

The cross-shaped interior, with the altar at the apse, is an homage to light and nature. Treelike columns soar to the sky, colored by constantly changing light filtered through stained glass windows like the sun poking through leaves in a forest.

“Nature is my teacher,” Gaudí once said. “Everything comes from the great book of nature, always open that we must read.”

The colors of the window glass have meaning: The blues and greens of the eastern portal windows, where the facade depicts Christ’s birth, look more joyful and are most brilliant when the sun rises and light passes through. The coarser shades of red and orange, illuminated by the setting sun on the western portals, color the side of the basilica that depicts Christ’s Passion. Behind the altar and above the cross are yellows and gold that glimmer in the noonday sun.

Historian Mònica Santín, who leads tours of the basilica, said that in designing Sagrada Familia, Gaudí was guided by two books: the Gospels and nature.

“The way he lets in the natural light is also an invitation to the Christian mystery,” she said, citing the three facades depicting Christ’s birth, death and glory.

“And when you enter inside, it is all light,” Santín said. “What is that the symbol of? We can’t see God, but we perceive his light all around us. I think that is how you can read this message, and it is fascinating.”

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Pope Leo XIV leads a rosary prayer at the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat, in Montserrat, Spain, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV greets the faithful from the balcony after leading a rosary at the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat, in Montserrat, Spain, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Mateu Parra)

People wait for the arrival of Pope Leo XIV to lead a rosary at the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat, in Montserrat, Spain, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

People wait for the arrival of Pope Leo XIV to lead a rosary at the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat, in Montserrat, Spain, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Antoni Gaudí's Basilica of the Sagrada Família stands at dusk as seen from the Mirador Torre Glòries in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Pope Leo XIV looks at the cheering crowd upon arriving to attend a midday prayer at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Visitors take photos inside the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, May 26, 2026, ahead of Pope Leo XIV's visit to the city in June. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A view of the Basilica of Montserrat at the Monastery of Montserrat near Barcelona, Spain, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A view of the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, May 20, 2026, ahead of Pope Leo XIV's visit to the city in June. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Pope Leo XIV arrives to attend a prayer vigil at Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Pope Leo XIV blesses a child before a prayer vigil at Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A group of armed attackers drove into a poor neighborhood in South Africa's biggest city, got out of a minivan and opened fire at residents in a late-night attack in Johannesburg that killed 12 people and wounded at least nine, police said Wednesday.

The attack unfolded late on Tuesday night in an informal settlement in the city's Cleveland suburb, police said, adding that there were at least 10 suspected attackers who later fled the scene. Johannesburg has long been the scene of organized crime gangs vying for control of illegal mining or other activities, though police said the motive of the latest shooting was still under investigation.

Police said the shooters were dropped off at the settlement in a minibus “and moved through the area, opening fire on residents and community members at multiple locations before fleeing the scene in the same vehicle.”

The victims were nine men and three women, according to police. Eleven died at the scene and another victim died in the hospital.

Police said a search was launched for the suspects and the vehicle but that no arrests had been made.

Provincial police commissioner Tommy Mthombeni called the killings “insane, heartless and, to a certain extent, barbaric.” He said it was too early to link them to illegal mining gangs as an investigation was underway, but police were considering that as a possible motive.

He said a recent police operation in the area had confiscated illegal firearms, including assault rifles, and illegal miners were known to operate there.

Ambulances were on the scene on Wednesday morning to carry away the victims' bodies while community members huddled in groups on the streets.

Informal settlements in South Africa are unplanned residential areas that are common in and around big cities where people looking for housing live in shacks or other makeshift structures. Illegal miners sometimes operate in the same areas.

South Africa has seen several high-profile mass shootings recently, including two in December that killed more than 20 people. One of those attacks also involved multiple shooters.

Mass shootings in South Africa are often connected to criminal gangs. In Johannesburg, violent gangs are involved in illicit mining in and around a city that has large gold reserves and many mines that have been abandoned by companies.

Gangs search abandoned mines for leftover gold deposits, which they sometimes store in hideouts in the informal settlements. Rival gangs also fight turf wars for control of areas.

Cleveland is a suburb connected to illegal mining activity, a local council member said, though he added there were also other problems in the area including tensions over land between different parts of the local community and it was not certain illegal mining gangs were responsible for the killings.

“There are a lot of moving parts here so it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what is driving the issues,” council member Neuren Pietersen said in an interview with the eNCA TV station at the scene.

Acting national police commissioner Puleng Dimpane said in a statement that specialist forensic investigators and tactical response teams have been deployed. Tracing the white minibus was a priority, Dimpane said.

South Africa has extremely high violent crime rates, with the country recording more than 23,000 killings in the last financial year, according to official crime statistics, an average of more than 60 a day.

Illegal mining in Johannesburg and the surrounding areas was one of the concerns that prompted the government in March to deploy the army to certain high-risk areas in a yearlong operation to stop violence linked to organized crime.

That move by the government was seen as an admission that police were losing the battle in some parts of the country where violent criminal gangs operate.

Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa.

AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

People sit outside a cordon, at the scene of a mass shooting at an informal settlement in the Cleveland suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Police officers carry stretchers after a mass shooting at an informal settlement in the Cleveland suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Police officers carry the body of a person on a stretcher after a mass shooting at an informal settlement in the Cleveland suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Police officers carry the body of a person on a stretcher after a mass shooting at an informal settlement in the Cleveland suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)