Gaudí will be happy, although he did not see the Sagrada Familia finished. "St. Joseph will finish it," he repeated. "That is why now," the German pope added yesterday, "it is significant that it is dedicated by a pope whose first name is Joseph".... The consecration of "the basilica of the 21st century" was in the purest Gaudí style. He said that he had learned everything from three books: the Bible, the liturgy and nature. The trilingual celebration was in style. A motley and multitudinous choir filled the vaults -a forest of stone palm trees- with songs in different languages. Light and color, oil and water, bread and wine, fire and incense spoke the language of nature.

Man is not only a rational being, but also a ritual being. Benedict XVI took advantage of this atmosphere to speak of art and beauty, "man's great need" and "revealing of God. Two and a half million tourists visit this "place of beauty, faith and hope" every year. The new basilica contains a complete pathway of faith, but the images are not inside the church, but on the façade. Any passerby can see it from the street. This is an image of Benedict XVI's dialogue with today's world. Now he has sung a hymn to art, beauty and life.

"The Church opposes denials of human life." That is, it defends life, freedom and the family. This is "school of love, prayer and work", which has its model in that constituted by Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The family is very important. Benedict XVI has order financial aid for it on the part of the State. And for women who must divide themselves between the family and the work. One last secret: "Only where love and fidelity exist, true freedom is born and endures". This is also the core topic of happiness. Gaudí would be happy not only for his work, but for what he saw and heard - also in Catalan - in the new basilica.