Cathedral of Justo Gallego Martínez in the Spanish village of Mejorada del Campo (near Madrid)
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010I’ve come across the story of Justo Gallego Martínez in the past and I stumbled on him again today. As he is such a remarkable character, I thought I’d bring him to your attention.
This guy is 85 years old and 50 years ago he wanted to thank God for curing his tuberculosis, so he decided to build a cathedral — by himself.
This is a link to Google Images for a few piccies of the Cathedral and the great man:
I found this on YouTube:
Sadly the cathedral may yet be demolished for lack of planning permission:
……..Instead, a problem with zoning permits may mean Spain’s one-man cathedral will have to come down.
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But the future of Gallego’s legacy is uncertain. He is building his cathedral, which isn’t officially recognized by the church, without any permits.
Municipal authorities admit privately that for decades they looked the other way as Gallego raised his structure only a couple of blocks from city hall, in part because he is now beloved in town, but also because few actually thought he would succeed.
That tactic won’t work for much longer, though, as Gallego prepares to leave his incomplete masterpiece to the Diocese of Alcalá de Henares, which will have to decide whether to keep building the cathedral or destroy it.
“What Don Justo has done is admirable. I kneel before his faith,” says Father Florentino Rueda, vicar and legal adviser of the diocese.
“But this construction is illegal, which means we could inherit a problem.”
