Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí is on the road to sainthood and could be beatified within the next year according to Catalonian radio station RAC1.
Gaudí, responsible for intricate, wild and compelling architecture including the unfinished Sagrada Familia, or "cathedral of the poor" in Barcelona, would still need a miracle performed in his name to complete the canonisation process.
But according to the Pro Beatification for Antoni Gaudí Association, the architect, born in 1852 and known colloquially as "God's architect", could be beatified soon.
"If everything goes well, the process will be finished by spring 2015, with the final document written up and Pope Francis' signature on it," campaign leader José Manuel Almuzara told RAC1.
Beatification is the third of the four steps to sainthood.
La Sagrada Familia has been under construction since 1883.
Heart and Soul, on the BBC World Service, and the BBC News Magazine, reporting on the beatification campaign, described its "enormous tangle of arches and spires in the centre of Barcelona... Lining the nave are pale, tree-like columns that stretch up to the heavens, where they open up to form a complex stone canopy. The many stained-glass windows cast a dappled, shimmering light on the walls. The overall effect touches many visitors deeply, sometimes unexpectedly."
Gaudí was an ascetic who ate lettuce leaves dipped in milk for lunch and once nearly died as a result of a lenten fast. He never married and reduced himself to poverty by his obsession with finishing the basilica. He died in 1926 after he was knocked down by a tram on his way to confession.
In 2003, Gaudí was officially named a "Servant of God", the first step towards beatification and in 2010, in what was seen as a further positive sign Pope Benedict XVI consecrated La Sagrada Familia. He next has to be declared "venerable" by the beatification.
