El Loco de la Catedral

So today I went to my new favorite Cathedral in the whole world (Sorry, Sagrada Familia). It doesn't really have a name, but its in Mejorada del Campo, which is a pueblo just outside Madrid. It's being built (and has been under construction for almost 50 years) by Justo Gallego, a 90 year old former monk who has dedicated his life to this work to glorify God. In the pueblo (and in much of the rest of Spain), they call him El Loco de la Catedral (The Crazy Man of the Cathedral).

He's built the whole thing, from excavating the crypt to constructing the towers and cupolas, by hand with improvised tools (including a bicycle wheel as a pulley) with help from 2 or 3 other people. Using almost entirely recycled or excess materials donated from other building sites and without plans or any construction training, he works his own metal, pours his own concrete, and climbs improvised scaffolding to complete work high above the ground.

We found out about Justo thanks to Laura, Stacy's señora, who produced a documentary on him some years ago and is now his good friend. She invited us to accompany them on a "mystery adventure" to "el pueblo más feo de Madrid" (the ugliest village of Madrid). But the resulting exploration of the cathedral, with special commentary from Laura, was well worth it.

View of the unfinished cupolas from the tower

Wall decoration on the crypt

What all of the finished cupolas will look like?
Mosaic stairs"Stained glass" - broken colored glass sandwiched between two panes of clear glass

Laura and JustoThe biggest cupola, from inside the cathedral

Eventually, Laura tells us, the cathedral is supposed to be dedicated to the Virgen del Pilar, the patron saint of Spain and the saint to which Justo's mother was very devoted. The town ignores the cathedral for the most part, chalking it up to Justo's madness. They closed it down for a while to visitors because it is dangerous (it became popular after being featured in a commercial for a Pepsi drink). Justo builds without any permits, but it is on his own land and he has a sign disclaiming any responsibility for accidents, so they mostly leave him alone. The Catholic Church probably will never recognize his cathedral, if he ever finishes it, but that's fine with Justo. He doesn't even care if he finishes it or not. He's more focused on glorifying the Lord each day by offering his work to Him.

For further info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justo_Gallego_Mart%C3%ADnez
http://www.cathedraljusto.com/thestory.html - the documentary made by Stacy's Senora