On 19th March 1882, the construction of Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família began in Barcelona. The Sagrada Familia is the longest construction project undertaken in modern times. It is expected to be completed by 2034.

While the 150 years it has taken for this project might seem like an exception, it is the rule. The Cologne Cathedral took 632 years, starting in 1248 and ending in 1880. The St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague took 585 years to finish starting in 1344 and ending in 1929. The Milan Cathedral took 579 years to build starting in 1386 and ending in 1965.If you look at the history of almost all of them seem to have taken decades if not centuries. They were started without clarity about when they might be finished.Greta Thunberg referred to this as Cathedral Thinking.Cathedral Thinking involves pursuing ambitious goals, taking the long view and considering the benefit that would accrue to multiple generations rather than just one. They did not care for time or treasure that would be consumed in the pursuit. Sometimes the countries that embarked on the projects did not even exist by the time they were finished!Most of these pursuits were undertaken because people had faith and belief. A commodity that is quite rare to find these days.