Cathedral of Justo

History

Gallego Martínez began construction on a farmland owned by his family on October 12, 1961, after he could not complete his novitiate at the Cistercian monastery Monastery of Santa María de Huerta, due to his tuberculosis.

After his condition improved, he promised to thank God, and the Virgin Mary, by constructing a church building. And, over the course of many years, using family assets, selling his land, as well as private donations, he was able to work on the building.

Gallego dedicated more than 50 years of his life to construct the building until his death. With the exception of some help from others, the near entirety of the "cathedral" has been constructed purely by Gallego, who had no qualifications in any form, his studies having been interrupted during the Spanish Civil War. Gallego constructed the building without any plan, public funding or official building permits.

The inhabitants of Mejorada del Campo know the project as the "Cathedral of Justo", and it is what the town, 20 kilometers from Madrid, is known for. The ground has been used for religious ceremonies, but it has not been consecrated. In 2005, it was used in a publicity campaign of the Aquarius drink brand, which brought international attention to the project.

Gallego died on 28 November 2021. The building was donated to the Catholic organisation Mensajeros de la Paz (Messengers of Peace) just before his death to allow the construction to be completed.

Architecture

The cathedral covers an area of 4700 m2. It features a dome 35 m high 10 m wide, 12 towers, a crypt, and two cloisters. Gallego constructed the cathedral out of bricks, wood, discarded material from building sites, materials recycled from old buildings, as well as various scavenged materials including old car tires and bicycle wheels, and donated materials including concrete, sculptures and decorations. He constructed the pillars using stacked oil drums, and the windows from broken coloured glass. Some of the walls are decorated with murals painted by an artist from Madrid.

References

References

1. Minder, Raphael. (8 December 2021). "Justo Gallego, Who Built a Cathedral, Brick by Brick, Dies at 96". The New York Times.
2. Bremner, Matthew. (31 May 2022). "The man who built his own cathedral". The Guardian.
3. Independiente, El. (2021-11-28). "Muere Justo Gallego a los 96 años tras seis décadas levantando su propia catedral".
4. (2022-01-17). "La Catedral de Justo - Página Oficial".
5. Minder, Raphael. (17 April 2017). "Ex-Monk Erects a ‘Cathedral of Faith’ Brick by Brick, and Mostly Alone". The New York Times.
6. "The Real Royal Trip Exhibition".
7. "The Lone Man Building a Cathedral By Hand".
8. Sharrock, David. (29 November 2021). "Eccentric dies with his curious cathedral unfinished". [[The Times]].
9. (30 November 2021). "'Scrap cathedral' in Spain lives on after originator's death". France 24.