An eccentric monk’s singular scrap cathedral

Author: signor_bosco

Score: 100

Comments: 22

Date: 2021-12-02 20:46:46

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veltas wrote at 2021-12-03 09:15:00:

The Messengers also announced they wanted it to be an open religious space where Muslims, Jews, Protestants, Orthodox, and Catholics could congregate and discuss religion. I knew Justo. I knew how antiquated and conservative he could be. I knew that he had fought for many years for his cathedral to be consecrated as a Catholic place of worship.

This is sad, and it's discussed in the article the difficulties in getting it sanctified as an actual Cathedral, but you don't have to be 'antiquated and conservative' to want the Cathedral you spent the best part of your life making to be a place of worship for your own religion.

jacquesm wrote at 2021-12-03 02:32:44:

What an incredibly moving piece. I have absolutely nothing with religion but I recognize the dedication and the relentless pursuit of a lifelong goal as something that is the kind of energy that moves the world. It takes a lot of genius and a little bit of madness to be able to envision something like this and then to pursue it.

I've seen a few structures like this one up close and they never cease to impress.

For instance:

https://www.pewinieuws.nl/nieuws-categorie/even/6157-kunsttu...

and

https://dailynewshungary.com/explore-the-hungarian-taj-mahal...

momirlan wrote at 2021-12-03 04:31:42:

A singular man, who had something to show at the end of his life

My favourite among eccentric builders is Edward James:

https://www.archdaily.com/790389/inside-las-pozas-edward-jam...

intrepidhero wrote at 2021-12-03 00:56:22:

Of all the virtues and vices we humans possess, the stubborn pursuit of a singular, outlandish idea may just be my favorite.

Lamad123 wrote at 2021-12-03 02:49:16:

The guy who discovered Tut Ankh Amun's tomb and the other guy who financed his many years of digging are good examples. At least those guys found what they were looking for!

exolymph wrote at 2021-12-03 04:10:23:

Also the guy who found the site of Troy!

skeaker wrote at 2021-12-02 23:02:58:

What a fantastically written article. Justo ultimately passing away without completing the cathedral is tragic to me, but I have to say that it is fitting with his beliefs. I wonder what he would have done had he managed to finish it, or if he ever had any intention of declaring it as finished at all.

Lamad123 wrote at 2021-12-03 02:46:52:

I watched a documentary about this dude sometime ago and kinda was almost confident he'd finish his work. I didn't even read the article to know he died!

AutumnCurtain wrote at 2021-12-02 22:11:51:

Somewhat reminiscent of the Watts Towers or the Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watts_Towers?wprov=sfla1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Hampton_%28artist%29?wpr...

oboes wrote at 2021-12-03 01:23:39:

Or Ferdinand Cheval's "Palais idéal":

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Cheval

MayeulC wrote at 2021-12-03 10:15:14:

I was about to comment this! Although the both the cathedral and garden seem larger, the Palais idéal has very intricate details, somewhat reminiscent of the Sagrada Família. All built by a single man, ferrying stones on a wheelbarrow.

There was a recent movie (

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7248884/

) about the man and his creation, I quite liked it.

More picture on the French Wikipedia palace page:

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_id%C3%A9al

mlac wrote at 2021-12-03 00:57:55:

Or this treehouse in TN:

https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/13769

I didn’t realize it had burned until I just looked it up. It was really cool when I visited it sometime around 2007 I guess…

Nick87633 wrote at 2021-12-03 02:13:50:

Of course, the fire marshal caused it to be closed to the public. Bureaucrats can't stand anyone having fun.

MayeulC wrote at 2021-12-03 10:07:45:

> The Amazon CloudFront distribution is configured to block access from your country.

beaconstudios wrote at 2021-12-02 22:24:01:

Or the coral castle:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral_Castle

perl4ever wrote at 2021-12-03 01:11:53:

https://www.thedrive.com/news/41086/skilled-craftsman-builds...

wonderwonder wrote at 2021-12-02 22:10:16:

Pretty incredible the size of it and how much he built. Not what I would have chosen to dedicate my life to but he lived his whole life working towards a goal without distractions. Seems like just as good a life as could be hoped for, hope that he died satisfied, all anyone can really ask from life.

davidklemke wrote at 2021-12-02 21:57:00:

Seems he passed just recently:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justo_Gallego_Mart%C3%ADnez

MayeulC wrote at 2021-12-03 10:06:36:

This is also the final sentence of the article.

philipswood wrote at 2021-12-03 04:24:18:

Reminds me of TempleOS.

stavros wrote at 2021-12-03 07:13:58:

Without the OS bit.

exolymph wrote at 2021-12-03 04:10:36:

Deo Gratias