Meet Justo Gallego Martinez, 89-year-old monk, who began building a cathedral back in 1963. There seems to be nothing odd about that, right? Wrong! This former monk had no construction or design training so as to speak and yet went on with his project of building an amazing cathedral in Mejorada del Campo, Madrid. The structure today is 131-ft all, and our builder still works on it every day.
He lacked resources and money, yet he went on with his dream to build a church so that he could honor the Virgin Mary. Owing to the lack of resources and money, he used trash and recycled material for building this huge cathederal. In response to people telling him that he is doing something idiotic, and he won’t be able to see it finished in time as well, he says, “I think people waste their time. Man can do many things. Everybody can do amazing things. But, of course, you must have an ideal.”
Director James Rogan made a short film about him that has been titled El Loco De La Catedral (The Mad Man and The Cathedral). Check out the documentary and his work below and let us know what you think of it.
The Amazing El Loco De La Catedral!
He never got any proper permit for building the Cathedra, however, no one from the government has so far bothered him about it.
Pablo Queralto, an architect, said, “The bricks don’t meet minimum standards, either in themselves or the way they’ve been laid.” Despite that it is, one has to admire the work Martinez has done.
The Cathedral has managed to get quite an Internet fame and thus attracts a large number of tourists.
He visits construction sites every day looking for any waste material that he can use for the cathedral.
The pillars of the church have been created from old oil drums.
This huge dome has been created from plastic food tubs that were recycled.
At the age of 89 years, it is highly unlikely that he will live to see the project completed, yet he is working on it nonetheless.
Martinez talks about starting his life over and says, “I’d build this church again, only bigger. Twice the size, because, for me, this is an act of faith.”
The commitment and dedication is surely
amazing!
