For sixty years, only animated by his faith, Justo Gallego built with his own hands a "cathedral" near Madrid.
A still unfinished temple, made of materials destined for waste, of which he will never see the end of the construction.
Built on a vacant lot in Mejorada del Campo, the Cathedral of Justo, which is not recognized as a place of worship by religious authorities, today has an area of 4,700m2, a central nave 50 meters long and 20 meters wide, 35 meters high and twelve towers in Gothic or Byzantine style.
Justo Gallego has devoted more than half of his life to it, using broken bricks, paint cans or cans and moving forward meter after meter, without having a plan.
The interior of the Cathedral of Justo.
GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP
Visiting the premises after receiving the Princess of Asturias Prize, the famous British architect Norman Foster told him: "
you should have been awarded this prize
", Juan Carlos Arroyo, engineer told AFP on Friday. and architect whose company, Calter Ingeniería, studies the solidity of the construction which still needs to be regularized.
Too weakened to work in recent years, Justo has ceded his life's work to the charitable organization of the Messengers of Peace of Father Angel, a well-known religious and media in Spain, who will be responsible for completing the construction of the temple. .
The interior of the Cathedral of Justo.
ERIC CABANIS / AFP
"
In the Justo style
"
Born in 1925 in Mejorada del Campo, in a family of farmers, he began to build this temple dedicated to the
Virgin of the Pillar
at the age of 27 after having to leave monastic life and come back to his village.
Wink, it is in the street Antonio Gaudi (1852-1926), builder of the Sagrada Familia of Barcelona unfinished at his death and which is still not finished.
An architect that Justo despised for having wanted to imitate nature when his sole desire was to build a Roman temple.
According to Juan Carlos Arroyo, the cathedral of Mejorada del Campo is more "
Gothic in architectural terms, because of its finesse, the scale of construction
" but it is above all "
in the Justo style
".
"
The structure withstood major meteorological events throughout its construction,
" he adds, saying that he is convinced that it will only require "
small surgeries
".
Which is surprising, given the materials used.
“
Recycling is all the rage today, but Justo used it 60 years ago when no one was talking about it
” and “
he created an aesthetic, a beautiful aesthetic
”.
Justo Gallego Martinez on the roof of the cathedral that he built with his own hands.
ERIC CABANIS / AFP
People in need
Father Angel would like Justo's Cathedral to be a place open to all faiths but also to people in need. "
I dare say that there are too many cathedrals and too many churches and that sometimes we especially need them to be full,
" he said in front of the altar. “
It will not be a cathedral per se, but a social center where people can come to pray
” or if they “
have difficulties
”.
Inside the building, volunteers working under the direction of Angel López, who has been helping Justo Gallego for 24 years, mingle with visitors coming in and out.
Like Ramon Calvo, 74, who came from Madrid with his former classmates. "
If the means, especially economic ones, are put in, to finish it, it will be a very beautiful temple.
And given the history it has, it will deserve to be visited, as we are in the process of doing,
”he said, claiming to be“
convinced
”that Justo Gallego had received a“
message
”before embarking on such a business.
