An Act Of Faith That Nobody Wants

Justo Gallego has spent the last four decades of his 81 years building a cathedral. There are no plans, there are no drawings. Gallego started his endeavor with no building experience whatsoever. And nobody wants what he has built. Local residents in Mejorada del Campo call him crazy and town officials are very unhappy with him. He is probably not going to finish building it himself, so the real question is what happens when he is gone?

To some, the 10-story-high product of Justo Gallego's labor of love is an awesome monument to faith and perseverance. Coca-Cola featured it in a 2005 commercial, and Gallego was included in a 2003 exhibition on modern Spanish artists in New York's Museum of Modern Art.

But to municipal officials in this gritty industrial town on the southeastern fringe of Madrid, it's something of an eyesore.

"For the town hall, Justo's thing is a big problem," said government spokeswoman Flora Saura, lifting her shoulders to convey a sense of helplessness. "Everybody's fond of him but he's living in another world."

"It's all in my head," Gallego wrote on a board hanging inside the door of the enormous structure. "I am not an architect and I confess to having no training related to construction."

Two questions arise: Will he able to finish it? Unlikely. And what if he doesn't? No one knows. Although he has a string of nephews, Gallego has reportedly willed his brainchild to the bishopric of nearby Alcala de Henares.

Saura calls it a "a poisoned present." Mejorada del Campo, she says, has neither the expertise nor the money to take charge, and repeated requests to the regional and national governments and to the Roman Catholic Church for help have gotten nowhere.

"Nobody wants anything to do with it," she said. "There's no project, no construction permits, no inspections, no architect's plans. It's totally illegal and numerous legal proceedings have been opened against him."

There is a certain striking beauty to the work he has done, there are plenty of pictures and a lot more background here. Huge photo album here (in Spanish).