Spaniard Justo Gallego Martinez (1925–2021) spent his entire life building a cathedral and he did it on his own. But this enigmatic man—who gained renown as “God’s crazy bricklayer”—from Mejorada del Campo, a small town close to Madrid, was not a lofty architect.
Rather, Don Justo (his honorific name) was raised in a humble, devout farming family and ever since he was a very young boy, he had a deep faith in God. His cathedral is not made of gold and costly stone but scrap and recycled materials that he collected himself. When he started building his cathedral in 1961, the word on the street was that he was crazy; his typical day, throughout the next six decades began at 3.30 a.m.
Bit by bit Don Justo got to work on his vision in the nondescript Madrid suburb. Mostly, his materials consisted of concrete, broken brick, and colored glass, with old petrol drums used for the columns.
Throughout the project, which eventually spanned almost 60 years and resulted in a total built-up area of 86,000 square feet, a crane was never deployed. The cathedral includes a 120-foot dome (modeled on St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City), a huge crypt, chapels, cloisters, and a library.
“I don’t want anything material, any money. So I’ve gotten rid of everything, even my house. It’s impossible that I finish this cathedral in my lifetime because there’s still so much to do,” he told Great Big Story. “I hope that after I die this cathedral … well, I’m leaving it to the divine hand. I don’t know how far it will go. It’s better that God take charge.”
Justo dedicated his cathedral to the Virgin Mary and named it Nuestra Señora del Pilar, though it was never officially authorized nor recognized as a sacral object by Spain’s predominant Roman Catholic Church, according to the Church Times.
But the city council of Mejorada del Campo, in a statement published at the start of three days of public mourning for the builder, said: “The spirit of his work will remain eternally in the hearts of those who admired this cathedral—a work of genius built on lifelong immovable qualities of faith, perseverance, and dedication.”