The French, when talking about impossible dreams or chimerical ideas, use the expression faire des châteaux en Espagne, which in Spanish translates as building castles in Spain, that is, in the air, as we would say here. Justo’s cathedral, the temple built over decades by a single man, is the culmination of much of the Spanish idiosyncrasy.
Now the municipality of Mejorada del Campo has closed the unique building. Justo’s cathedral, which became famous thanks to an Aquarius advertisement, will not be able to receive visitors or host public events until further notice. The City Council has issued a closure order based on an argument as simple as it is compelling: the building has never had a building permit or an approved technical project, despite having been open to the public for years under the management of the NGO Mensajeros de la Paz.
Construction began in the 1960s, when Justo Gallego, a farmer and former aspiring monk, decided to build a temple in honor of the Virgin of Pilar on his family’s land with his own hands. For more than half a century, he carried bricks, columns, domes, and stained glass windows made from recycled materials, without official plans, without an architect, and without a building permit, until he created a monumental cathedral-like building that attracted curious onlookers, photographers, and, above all, the spotlight of the Aquarius advertisement that made it a symbol of tenacity nationwide.
In 2021, shortly before his death, Justo donated the property to Mensajeros de la Paz, Father Ángel’s organization, with the idea that they would finish it and maintain it as a place of welcome and worship. Since then, the NGO has presented it as the “Cathedral of Faith,” a sustainable, multi-faith project open to believers and non-believers alike, where visits, exhibitions, and even a controversial annex with a mosque, synagogue, and evangelical chapel have been organized.
A building without licenses or safety guarantees
The problem, as the City Council has now made official, is that this cathedral has never met the basic requirements for any building open to the public. “It is a building without licenses,” summarizes the municipal closure decree, dated February 10. The technical services point out that it is an “irregular building” constructed without a project or professional approval, without justification of compliance with the Technical Building Code (structural safety, fire safety, accessibility, etc.), and with elements such as exterior staircases or slabs that could pose a risk to people.
According to the council, for years Father Ángel’s organization has been required to submit a complete regularization project, approved by the Madrid College of Architects, certifying that the structure complies with regulations and allowing for the processing of an opening license as a civic center and exhibition hall. Messengers of Peace has provided “some documentation,” but the technicians consider it insufficient: key reports on safety, stability, and health are missing, which is why the file has been blocked for some time.
The spark: an exhibition that could not be held
Editorial credit: Hernan J. Martin / Shutterstock.com
Paradoxically, the trigger for the closure was a cultural proposal. A few weeks ago, a foundation asked the Urban Planning Department what permits it needed to organize an art exhibition in the cathedral. Upon reviewing the file, the technicians found that the building lacked any activity license and that there was no legalization process underway that would allow the exhibition to be authorized, which led to the opening of a new procedure that has now culminated in the order to close the cathedral to visitors, exhibitions, and “any public use of the property.”
Mensajeros de la Paz acknowledges the situation on its own website and has published a clear notice to visitors: “The cathedral will remain closed pending the processing of the municipal license.” The organization claims that it applied for regularization more than three years ago, that it has been providing documentation, and that it will comply with the closure order while the process continues, reiterating its “full willingness” to collaborate with the City Council in order to reopen the space to the public in the future.
Meanwhile, the cathedral that was born as an act of faith and individual stubbornness, which became world famous thanks to an advertisement and which in recent years has been transformed into a social and multi-faith center, remains surrounded by fences and awaiting a technical project that will bring it into legality for the first time. The closure does not erase its status as an icon in the popular imagination, but it does remind us that even great works built by a single man need, sooner or later, something as mundane as a building permit.