(OSV News) ─ As the Church enters Holy Week ─ when the stone of Christ's tomb becomes a sign not of death but of the Resurrection ─ the life of Japanese sculptor Etsuro Sotoo offers a striking witness to how stone itself can become a path to faith.
For Sotoo, whose decades of carving at Spanish Barcelona's Basilica of the Holy Family, known as Sagrada Familia, have shaped one of the world's great sacred spaces, the slow, humbling work of sculpting stone ultimately led him to encounter the God whom Antoni Gaudí ─ Sagrada's iconic architect ─ served, and to enter the Catholic Church through baptism.
Sotoo, born in Japan in 1953, has been working at the Sagrada Familia since 1978. Searching for artistic direction, he went to Spain ─ a country Pope Leo XIV will visit in June to mark the centenary of Gaudí's death.
Studying the life and vision of Sagrada's legendary architect ─ and a spiritual giant ─ not only shaped his artistic path, but ultimately led to his conversion to Catholicism.
"I realized perhaps my life's worries ─ just like those of so many young people ... ─ might be resolved through stone. Stone does not allow itself to be carved unless one approaches it with humility. And so, I traveled to Europe, a place incredibly rich in stone, hoping to melt into that world," Sotoo told OSV News.
Construction of the Sagrada Familia began in 1882. After Gaudí's death in 1926, generations of architects and artisans carried forward his vision. Sotoo eventually became chief sculptor, for years leading the basilica's relief and ornamental sculpture work and interpreting Gaudi's designs into carved stone. He has made some 500 sculptures in Sagrada Familia, a masterpiece of Catalan architect Gaudi.
"When I encountered the Sagrada Familia, I felt a deep need to devote myself to the study of Gaudí," Sotoo told OSV News.
"Faced with the responsibility of continuing the work I was commissioned to do at the Sagrada Familia on my own, I realized the only way to see what Gaudí saw was to stand where he stood -- and that's when I realized Gaudí was looking at God," Sotoo said.
That realization proved decisive -- to understand Gaudí's art, Sotoo had to understand the faith that shaped it. His encounter with Gaudí's work became the spark of his conversion to Catholicism.
When he was baptized, he chose the names Luke and Michelangelo. St. Luke is traditionally regarded as the patron saint of artists -- due to the tradition of his writing an icon of the Blessed Mother ─ and Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni is an author of the marble sculpture of David and Sistine Chapel's frescoes ─ and the creator of countless iconic pieces of Christian art that immortalized his name.
In addition to his work as a sculptor, Sotoo has lectured internationally and served as a professor, sharing his experience of sacred art and Gaudí's vision with audiences in Europe and Asia. His contribution to sacred art was recognized with the prestigious Ratzinger Prize in 2024, awarded by the Vatican foundation established in honor of Pope Benedict XVI to promote theology and culture.
Seven of Gaudí's works have been inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List. The Sagrada Familia, considered Gaudi's masterpiece, remains one of the most visited churches in the world. Its distinctive towers and organic forms inspired by nature define Barcelona's skyline.
"A little research into Gaudí reveals that, although he alone holds seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites, each of his works is entirely unique," Sotoo told OSV News.
"Yet they all share a common spirit: every architectural creation is crafted with a delicate sensitivity in every detail, thoughtfully adapted to its owners, with the sole purpose of making them happy," Sotoo said.
"In other words, Gaudí wanted to make each person happy by creating something perfectly suited to them. In that sense, then who is the owner of the Sagrada Familia? God. So how can we make God happy? Just as a child wishes to make his parents happy, doesn't God's true happiness lie in seeing people living together in harmony and happiness? I believe Gaudí intended to build cathedrals as instruments for people to be happy, and that's my hope as well," the artist said.
Raised in Japan in a cultural context shaped largely by Shinto and Buddhist traditions, Sotoo said he did not experience his conversion as a rejection of his heritage. Instead, he discovered unexpected continuity.
"Although it was a different culture, I feel that Gaudí was closer to Japanese culture. His view of nature as a teacher, rather than an enemy, is exactly the same (in a) Japanese way of thinking, which surprised me -- but perhaps explains why Gaudí is better understood in Japan than in the West," Sotoo told OSV News.
Nature plays a central role in Gaudí's architecture. Columns branch like trees. Light and geometry create harmony. Sotoo said understanding this vision helped him grasp the spiritual foundation beneath the architecture.
Asked what he has learned from Gaudí not only as an artist but also as a believer, Sotoo pointed to a consistent intention visible across all of the architect's works.
"As Gaudí said, if everyone in the world's work could contribute to God's creation, I believe the world's problems would be greatly reduced," he added.
Known in Japan as the "Japanese Gaudí," Sotoo has become a symbol of how Gaudí's vision continues to inspire artists across the world. His decades-long work at the Sagrada Familia not only advances the basilica toward completion but also serves as a bridge between art and faith.
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Katarzyna Szalajko writes for OSV News from Warsaw.
