The magazine of the art-form of the photo-essay
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August 2015 back issue
by Susana Giron
A worn away shovel to dig leaning on one of the walls of the Cathedral. Due to financial difficulties, most of the
materials for the construction have been recycled or donated by anonymous people.
Justo puts plaster on the columm in front of the altar. The power of believing in yourself is a gift that everybody could
posses but only a few discover; a place where passions turn into destiny. How far we can get steeped in faith? .
Justo Gallego, 88 years old. With or without religious
sense, faith is one of the most powerful tools when our
determination to get something done is strong enough.
As a consequence of the absence of any plans or drafts,
nobody knows the Cathedral’s exact dimensions. It is
thought to be 8000 m2 over four floors, a crypt and 25
cupolas. The 40 metre high main cupola was expected to
be finish by the summer of 2014, thanks to the donation
made by a German businessman.
Justo keeps all the plans for the cathedral in his own head. The lack of architectural plans has made it hard for Justo
to get permission to do the build. It had been decades since Justo asked the Bishopric of Alcala de Henares, the City
council of Mejorada del Campo, and the Community of Madrid Government, to be in charge of the legal procedure.
However, until now none of these institutions have taken care of the construction work. Moreover, Justo doesn´t like to
draw anything, he thinks this is a waste of time.
Justo up on the scaffold around the main altar, where he prepares everything for a painter (a student of fine arts) who
is going to paint a large image of the Virgin Mary on the wall. It´s common to find volunteers helping Justo.
Justo always prays at work, following the old Benedictine monastic quote, “Ora et labora” ( Pray and work). Due to the
lack of money to build the Cathedral, the majority of the elements have been built with simple tools and his bare hands.
Justo gets tired by the end of the day. In the corridors of the second floor, he is constructing a steel pillar upon which to
place a sculpture. Every day he starts work at 7am and doesn’t finish until sunset. The sun indicates working time and
he loves to finish up as the last light of the day is dwindling. Untill 2011 he lived at his parents’ house but since then
the cathedral has become his home.
A melon open several days ago and a few tomatoes await Justo Gallego for lunch. This thin man, eats little and very
often, because as he says, "It is better for the soul and work. If you eat too much you do not work much".
Justo prays often at work.
Justo Gallego begins work every day at seven o'clock in the morning. He lights a fire to withstand the cold until the
sunrise.
Justo’s birthday. Family and good friends come to share a small and simple lunch with him. Justo is an austere man
who runs away from the luxury and excesses. All resources are few to build his dreamed Cathedral.
With extreme caution, Justo Gallego makes the stained glass windows that will decorate the walls of the building.
Made from tiny crystals of colors that he breaks himself. Normally he spends the whole winter making glass and
windows so that he can work inside and shelter from the cold.
It´s mid day and Justo climbs to the top of one of the Cathedral’s 25 cupolas. He wants to cover the roofs before the
coming of winter and rains. The Cathedral cupolas are one of the highest points in the village but he never use ropes.
Justo takes a rest while he works on the roof.
Justo looks at himself in the mirror after waking up. A bit of water and a small breakfast before the starts his working
day.
Justo Gallego climbs up a scaffold in the cloister of the Church. He is able to work on his cathedral at a height of more
than 15 metres.
Justo ends his working day at 7pm. He goes to bed early after taking just a short time to eat a small supper, read his
bible and pray.
The Cathedral of Mejorada del Campo. Madrid. Located very close to the city centre , the Cathedral sits in the ancient
farmlands that Justo inherited from his parents. Today surrounded by flats and apartments, it is the most recognized
symbol of this small town of 20,000 inhabitants.
When the passion overflows.
Justo Gallego (Mejorada del Campo, Madrid, 1925) is a farmer who has dedicated the last fifty four years of his life to
the construction of a cathedral. In solitary, without architectural knowledge and without official help, he wakes up every
day in the hope of raising new stones to Jesus Christ. The passion of this faithful old man – who has raised a temple
of four floors, with twenty-five domes, a crypt and a baptistery, all of eight thousand square meters and forty meters of
height – is not supported by the sponsorship of the Catholic Church nor of public institutions. Following Jesus of
Nazareth’s example, Justo Gallego continues his labour thanks to the charity of the visitors to the Temple and the sale
of all his properties.
It is his hope that, one day, the Catholic Church will consecrate this temple that has raised his faith and passion for so
many years.
