Sagrada Familia, Barcelona's 138-year-old building site

Jordi Fauli is the seventh chief architect of Barcelona's iconic Sagrada Familia since Antoni Gaudi began work on the basilica in 1883, and he had been expected to oversee its long-awaited completion.

But the pandemic has delayed efforts to finish this towering architectural masterpiece, which has been under construction for nearly 140 years, and it is no longer clear whether Fauli will still be in charge when it is finally done.

"I would like to be here for many more years, of course, but that's in God's hands," says Fauli, 62, a wry smile on his lips. 

He was just 31 when he joined the architectural team as a local in 1990 -- the same age as Gaudi when the innovative Catalan architect began building his greatest work in the late 19th century, a project that would take up four decades of his life. 

"When I arrived, only three of these columns were built and they were only 10 metres (33 feet) high," he explains from a mezzanine in the main nave.

"I was lucky enough to design and see the construction of the entire interior, then the sacristy and now the main towers." 

When finished, the ornate cathedral which was designed by Gaudi will have 18 towers, the tallest of which will reach 172 metres into the sky. 

The second-highest tower, which is 138 metres tall and dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was officially inaugurated on Wednesday with the illumination of the gigantic 5.5-tonne star crowning its highest point.