Tallest church/cathedral spire

The tallest church in the world is the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, Spain, which reaches 172.5 m (565 ft 11 in) off the ground. On 20 February 2026, masons working on the central Tower of Jesus Christ added the upper arm of a cross to the stone pinnacle that crowns its spire. This completed the external work to the basilica, 144 years after it was started, although work on the interior of the building is expected to carry on for up to two more years.

The Sagrada Família is a Roman Catholic basilica, designed by the famous Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí in the 1880s. Construction commenced on 19 March 1882, and has continued with only a few periods of inactivity ever since.

Gaudí envisioned the construction of the Sagrada Família as a centuries-long project, akin to the great cathedrals of medieval Europe. When asked about his schedule, he famously remarked "My client is not in a hurry". As such, for many decades it was widely referred to as a "forever project". The pace of construction has accelerated dramatically since the 2000s, however, as wooden scaffolding and workers with chisels and hammers have given way to tower cranes, computer models and precisely CNC-machined stonework.

As hoped, the basilica was completed in time for the centenary of Antoni Gaudí's death. He passed away on 10 June 1926.

The Sagrada Família claimed this record on 31 October 2025, when masons working on the Tower of Jesus Christ added the first section of the stone pinnacle that would crown the spire. This brought its height to 162.91 m (534 ft 5 in), surpassing the 161.53-m-tall (530-ft) spire of Ulm Minster in Germany which had been recognized as the tallest church since 1890.