The middle doorway is devoted to the Infant Jesus, and the sides are, of course, devoted to St. Joseph and the Virgin Mary, because Gaudí wanted to remind people at all times that the church is dedicated to the Family of Christ.

The doorway on the left is devoted to St. Joseph, as can be seen from the number of symbols placed around it and which refer to Joseph and his profession as a carpenter. There is a saw, a mallet, a chisel, a set square, a hammer and an axe. Can you see them?

Now let’s look at the scenes. At the top is the Wedding of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, and just beneath that, in the centre of the doorway, father and son are shown talking to each other, watched over by Jesus’s grandparents, St. Joaquin and St. Anne, who are on either side of the scene. If you look closely, you will see that the boy is holding a dove in his hands. It is the symbol of his humble acceptance of his father’s teachings.

On the sides of the doorway you can also see the Flight to Egypt and the Massacre of the Innocents. Under the pinnacle at the top is St. Joseph sailing a boat, as the helmsman of the Holy Family. The builders of the church wanted to pay posthumous tribute to Gaudi, and the face of St. Joseph is that of the architect himself.



(c) (R) 2013, MUSMon com S.L.
Text (a) Diego Laforga Marcos (2013)

Picture:
Source: Own work
Author: Carlos Marcos (2013)