Europe’s great churches struggle to accommodate both worshippers and tourists

Interior of the Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona, Spain, designed by Antoni Gaudi, photographed in September 2014. It is among the many iconic churches and religious buildings in Europe that have struggled to remain functional as sites of worship while also welcoming tourists. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit Ank Kumar. Shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Interior of the Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona, Spain, designed by Antoni Gaudi, photographed in September 2014. It is among the many iconic churches and religious buildings in Europe that have struggled to remain functional as sites of worship while also welcoming tourists. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit Ank Kumar. Shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) – A recent Saturday evening Mass at Sagrada Familia parish had all the hallmarks of a neighborhood worship service, from prayers for ill and deceased members to name-day wishes for two congregants in the pews. But it also featured security checks to get in and curious tourists peering down to take photos of the worshippers from above. The regular Mass is held in the crypt of modernist architect Antoni Gaudi’s masterpiece church, one of Europe’s most visited monuments. With tourism reaching or surpassing pre-pandemic records in Barcelona and across southern Europe, iconic sacred sites are struggling to accommodate the faithful who come to pray and the millions of visitors who often pay to view the art and architecture.

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