In my massive list of famous autistic or possibly autistic people I've got a heap of Nobel Prize winners, a couple of Fields Medal winners, quite a few "Sirs" and others who have been given prestigious national honours, a former US President, a couple of former Prime Ministers, and more big-wigs and notables than you can poke a stick at, but so far no saints. But that could change.
The Pope will soon consecrate the Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona, a massive project designed by the eccentric genius architect Antoni Gaudi that has been in construction for nearly 130 years, and is still not due for completion until the year 2025. People have been campaigning for the beatification of the late solitary Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi for a number of years, but it is thought that the Pope's visit to Barcelona could bring forward sainthood for Gaudi. In the later part of his life Gaudi lived a very humble life, devoted to his work and God. His legacy are stunningly strange buildings with an organic and ornate style. Gaudi's style is one that people either love or hate. I believe the famous writer George Orwell disliked Gaudi's distinctive work, which has been described by some commentators as kitsch.
Gaudi has briefly been identified as autistic in two books by Professor Michael Fitzgerald. A quote from a 2000 BBC News article: "Gaudi, like other creative geniuses, found that his obsessive energy and quirky lifestyle were often taken as signs of madness." Yeah, I get that too.
Pope arrives in Spain
Euronews
2010
http://www.euronews.net/2010/11/06/pope-arrives-in-spain/
Pope Benedict XVI visit to Barcelona could fast-track Saint Antoni Gaudi.
Barcelona Reporter
2010
http://www.barcelonareporter.com/index.php?/news/comments/pope_benedict_xvi_visit_to_barcelona_could_fast-track_saint_antoni_gaudi/
'Saint Gaudi' movement gains momentum
BBC News
2000
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/838148.stm
My massive list:
http://incorrectpleasures.blogspot.com/2006/09/referenced-list-of-famous-or-important.html
No comments:
Post a Comment