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There are two plaster fragments of the original models of this cross, and fragments of a mould for them. After studying them carefully, the team was able to extract the shape and proportions quite exactly. This study was also used for the geometric guidelines to design the great central cross that will top the tower of Jesus Christ and, thus, the whole building.
The geometry of each of the cross’s arms is a double twist, the same as is used on the Temple columns. So, based on a central core with square faces, the arms grow out of the square cross section and, with a double twist, transform into an octagonal shape halfway along the arm. Then, continuing toward the end of each arm, they keep turning until they go back to a square and end in a fairly flat square-pyramidal tip. The foot of the cross is designed, geometrically, just like the arms, although it is longer and transitions into a larger square base.
The arms, the foot and the head of the cross connect beautifully in a central polyhedron with eight triangular and six square faces, although only the front and back squares are visible; the rest are where the four parts that make up the cross start.
The cross is 7.5 metres tall, exactly the base module used for the geometric design of the floor plan and heights of the whole Temple, and half the height of the upper narthex. In terms of width, measured from the tip of one arm to the tip of the other, it is 4.25 metres wide and weighs a total of 18 tonnes.
THE STRUCTURE, ALSO IN TENSIONED STONE
Structurally, this cross is a complex element, as it is only attached at the base and therefore has a lot of exposed surface. This, along with its considerable width, which gives the arms considerable lift, makes it a real challenge. So, after the positive experience with the tensioned panels on the towers, the team decided to use tensioned stone for the cross as well, with steel bars piercing the inside of the cross pieces like a needle to compress the stones against each other and make the whole piece more resistant to the wind and earthquakes.
The tensioned stone system has made it possible to build a solid stone cross. The stone chosen is a granite from the French region of Tarn, which was also used on the pediment of the Passion façade, the great colonnade, the lion of Judah and the lamb of Abraham. The angels, however, are done in Roman travertine, a stone used since antiquity for its noble quality and used on this façade to highlight unique sculptural elements, like the sculpture of the flagellation, by Subirachs, or the angel sitting on the stone that covers the entrance to the tomb, by Fajula.
Finally, it is worth noting that the Passion façade has a notable ascending composition, like the whole Temple project. So, we can see how the extension of the master lines from the pediment and the balconies with the sculptural groups on the façade converge, from right to left, at the same points that structure the composition of the whole façade. These lines become increasingly steeper, and the highest line is that which leads up to the top of the cross, which then points up to the resurrected Christ above.