There’s a good and thought-provoking article by Cardinal Pell in the UK Catholic Herald about Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona:

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/issues/february-13th-2015/the-church-that-fills-me-with-hope-for-europe/

I had a private tour of this wonderful basilica last year and, like Pell, was converted by its theological and aesthetic charm from my previously skeptical position. I have a couple of books on the architect, Antoni Gaudi, a devout Catholic. His vision might best be described as elvish, in the sense that he endeavours to express the organic life of the Church in his eschewing of straight lines and strict geometry in favour of the arboreal. The interior looks almost like an ossified Lothlorien, with tree-like columns ascending to the heavens. There is also an abundance of profound symbolism to the whole design. Agreeing with His Eminence, I see this truly edifying edifice as a symbol of Europe’s resurrection.