Grab your Kleenex and get ready to cry all over your computer keyboard — this is what happens when a former monk devotes 50 years to building a church from nothing: amazing.
Justo Gallego Martinez, or Don Justo, has spent the past five decades building a church made of garbage, junk, and found materials.
After being unexpectedly struck with tuberculosis, Don Justo vowed that, if he survived, he would build a chapel. He made good on that vow.
Though most doubted Don Justo, he never gave up. With no formal training in architecture or construction, Don Justo has built the chapel brick-by-brick almost single-handedly. The cathedral is massive in size — especially when you consider he had so little help.
Although he believes he may not live to see it finished, he sure has come a long way. The Mejorada de Campo, just twelve miles outside of Madrid, Spain has become something of a tourist attraction. It may not be St. Peter's Basilica, but it has a beautiful and majestic allure of its own.
This church may look like a great work of architecture, but upon closer inspection, it’s not quite what it seems to be.
The chapel was built by Don Justo — a man with with no architectural or construction training.
Don Justo spent eight years at a Trappist Monastery.
In 1961, he was struck with tuberculosis and forced to leave the monastery.
While he was sick, Don Justo swore that if he survived he would build a chapel in honor of the Virgin Mary — the saint he prayed to.
Don Justo survived and he began building the church in 1963 with no formal training or materials.
When Don Justo told his friends and locals about his plans, he was met with much skepticism. How could one man accomplish something so great? But Don Justo was and is determined to finish. With his bare hands and the help of one local named Angel Lopez Sanchez, Don Justo has persisted.
Today, five decades later, he is still working on the chapel.
Up close, its details, while unprofessional, are nevertheless mesmerizing.
The large columns are constructed of mere oil drums.
The covering of the domes is made from thrown away food tubes.
The church is now 131 feet tall.
Much of the exterior remains unfinished and unpainted.
Like most churches, the Mejorada features intricate biblical scenes and details.
"If I lived my life again, I'd build this cathedral again only bigger. Twice the size, because for me, this is an act of faith," Don Justo said.
What one man will do for his faith, for something he believes in and something he loves, can inspire anyone!
