In the town of Mejorada del Campo, there's a former Trappist monk who has spent more than 50 years of his life building his own cathedral as a symbol of his devotion and faith in God. Until this day, this stunning edifice is still an ongoing project, which started way back in 1961.
According to CNN, the man behind this magnificent and large structure is Justo Gallego Martinez, born in 1925 in the town of Mejorada del Campo which is a town that's just 40 km east of Madrid. At age 27, Gallego joined a monastery and became a monk for eight years but decided to leave the monastic life because of tuberculosis.
Despite leaving the monastery, Gallego still wanted to serve so he decided that building a cathedral was the best way of showing his love for God. According to BBC, he did request a permit for the construction of the building but authorities ignored the project since they thought Gallego was not serious about it.
But even if he didn't get a building permit, he still decided to push through with the project. In 1961, the cathedral's construction began on a land that Gallego inherited from his family, even if there was no permission from the authorities. What's also interesting is that he didn't have any experience in construction.
Gallego never finished his studies after the Spanish Civil War broke out in the 1930s. But the lack of experience and education in architecture and masonry was never a hindrance. He was inspired by books and photographs that were about castles and cathedrals--that's the one he built has a Romanesque style of architecture.
He is still trying to finish the project up to this day. He got some help from his nephews but most of the work was done by him. But later on, he got help from a local resident named Angel Lopez who was interested in the project. As of now, the project is still unfinished and there's no specific time for its completion.
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