The Catholic Church has given Antoni Gaudí, the man behind the Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona, the nickname "God's architect".
Pope Francis highlighted the Catalan architect's "heroic virtues" and approved a decree on Monday that declares him "venerable".
This recognition comes before beatification and the next step after that is canonization.
According to the Catholic Church, beatification applies to three categories of people: martyrs, those who have lived a life with heroic virtues, and others with a clear reputation for holiness.
Candidates must also be attributed a miracle after their death, whereupon they can become saints.
Antoni Gaudí died in 1926, when Sagrada Familia was far from completed, which is still the case. The church was officially inaugurated in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI.
Benedict XVI then praised Antoni Gaudí's "genius, inspired by the fervor of his Christian faith, which managed to transform this church into a hymn to God made of stone."
