The basilica doesn't publish a completion date. In September 2025 the delegate president of the Construction Board, Esteve Camps, spoke of about 10 years if everything stays on its normal course. As of October 2026 the main things left are the Glory façade, with its four bell towers of about 120 metres, and the stairway, which depends on an agreement with the city council.
With the tower of Jesus Christ finished on the outside and blessed in June 2026, the question you hear most in front of the Sagrada Família is how much is left. The short answer: the basilica doesn't publish a completion date, and what remains is no small thing. This guide separates what is already built from what is still a plan, with who says what and when.
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What the Construction Board says about timing
On its official website, the basilica gives no completion date. At its latest press conference on the state of the works, on 22 September 2026, it spoke of the «final phase of construction», without a date. The most concrete forecast came from the delegate president of the Construction Board, Esteve Camps, in September 2025: according to NacióDigital, he said that if circumstances stay on their normal course the basilica will be completed «d'aquí a 10 anys» (ten years from now).
That figure is worth reading with caution. Some parts don't depend only on the pace of the work, such as the city permit for the stairway or the choice of artist for the main façade, and on the latter the chief architect, Jordi Faulí, said in September 2026, according to ElNacional.cat, that «no hi ha terminis» (there are no deadlines).
What is already built
Gaudí designed eighteen towers. Today there are fourteen. Eight are bell towers: the four on the Nativity façade, finished in 1925 and 1930, and the four on the Passion façade, finished in 1977. The other six are the central towers: the tower of the Virgin Mary, 138 metres, inaugurated on 8 December 2021; the four towers of the Evangelists, 135 metres, inaugurated on 12 November 2023; and the tower of Jesus Christ.
The tower of Jesus Christ, 172.5 metres, completed its exterior on 20 February 2026 with the placing of the upper arm of the cross, and Pope Leo XIV blessed it on 10 June. The interior naves were finished in 2010. Inside, the central tower is still under construction: in September the basilica explained that work is going on on the interior finishes and that a lift will be installed afterwards.
What's left: the Glory façade
The big outstanding piece is the Glory façade, on carrer de Mallorca, which will be the main entrance. It will have four bell towers, dedicated to Andrew, Peter, Paul and James the Greater, reaching about 120 metres. With them the total will reach eighteen towers.
It has one peculiarity: the street-side half of each tower doesn't reach the ground but rests, about 30 metres up, on eight columns representing the Beatitudes. According to ElNacional.cat, Faulí explained in September 2026 that the foundations of those columns are already done and that the plan is to start raising them «d'aquí a un any» (a year from now).
The decoration is also still to be decided. The Board asked Miquel Barceló, Cristina Iglesias and Javier Marín for proposals, which they submitted at the start of 2026; the board of trustees wants more time to choose, and doesn't rule out more than one of them working on it, or none.
The stairway, the most delicate point
To bridge the four-metre drop between carrer de Provença and carrer de Mallorca, Gaudí designed a great stairway and a raised bridge over carrer de Mallorca, with traffic running underneath. Building it affects residential blocks, which is why it depends on an agreement with the city council.
In March 2026, according to the newspaper Ara, Camps said that agreement was «close», without giving a date; the city council replied that the priority is the residents affected. In September, ElNacional.cat reported that the church has drawn up a minimal proposal that would mean demolishing a single building.
Other work in progress
On carrer de Provença the chapel of the Assumption is being built, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, along with the stretches of cloister around it; by the end of 2025 it had reached 8 of the 30 metres it will have. Restoration of the Nativity façade is also continuing, and the next will be that of the Simon bell tower.
Who pays for the work
The Sagrada Família was born as an expiatory church: it was to be built only with the alms of the faithful. Today the funding is still private. According to the basilica's annual report, in 2025 it took in 134.5 million euros, all of private origin, and spent 51.7 % of its outgoings on construction and 31.8 % on running the church. That year 4,877,567 people visited it.
Some of the money goes back to the city: under the 2018 agreement with the city council, the basilica committed to contributing 36 million euros to improve the surroundings of the church and residents' quality of life.
Watching it grow when you live here
Anyone spending a few months in Barcelona can follow the work closely: every September, during La Mercè, the basilica opens its doors for free to explain the state of the works; in 2026 there were 20,000 places. For the rest of the year, the practical side, from prices to the residents' discount, is in our guide to the Sagrada Família for people living in Barcelona.
Checked
Data checked on 15 October 2026 on the basilica's official website (sagradafamilia.org): timeline of the church's history, news items of 24 July and 22 September 2026 on the state of the works, the 2025 annual report, the news item on the financial agreement with the city council and information booklets 2, 8 and 10. Statements on timing, the stairway and the artists come from NacióDigital (18 September 2025), Ara (24 March 2026) and ElNacional.cat (22 September 2026). Construction forecasts change: check them on the basilica's website.
Quick questions
Are all eighteen towers of the Sagrada Família built yet?
No. Gaudí designed eighteen towers. Today there are fourteen: eight bell towers and the six central towers, including the tower of Jesus Christ, 172.5 metres.
How tall is the tower of Jesus Christ?
172.5 metres. It completed its exterior on 20 February 2026 and Pope Leo XIV blessed it on 10 June.
Who pays for building the Sagrada Família?
The funding is private: according to the annual report, in 2025 it took in 134.5 million euros, all of private origin, and spent 51.7 % of its outgoings on construction.