The "Lunatic Builder" who spent 50 years (and counting) building a cathedral

2015-06-30T14:25:00-04:00

There were never any construction plans or official permission. Everything is in my head. I am not an architect or a stonemason. I have never had any training in the building profession. My basic education was interrupted by the Civil War. I was inspired by books about cathedrals, castles and other religious buildings and they gave birth to my own work...—Don Justo Gallego Martínez

Born into humble means in the Spanish town of Mejorada del Campo in 1925 and having worked as a farmer and a bullfighter, Don Justo Gallego Martínez lived in a Trappist monastery for eight years until he was forced to leave when he contracted tuberculosis. Don Justo, who never had any training as an architect or a builder, was "left with [nothing but] the strong conviction that God wanted him to build a temple." And so he did. The year was 1963 when Don Justo first laid the foundation of the Cathedral in Mejorada that he continues to build today.

Perceived by neighbors as "The Lunatic Builder" because he was building without any authorized permission, Don Justo remained steadfast in his spiritual mission — with the help of public donations and technical advice — to keep working on his temple until "the end of [his] days".

Sounds like a movie, right?

Well, director James Rogan created a short documentary in 2010 based on Don Justo's ongoing story called "The Madman and the Cathedral". Y...

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The "Lunatic Builder" who spent 50 years (and counting) building a cathedral