While most students were focused on finals, 14-year-old Gilbert Brons — younger brother of Therese Brons, a rising senior at Christendom College — was constructing a Lego replica of Christendom College’s Christ the King Chapel. He began the project during his finals week and completed it a couple weeks later. He has since gained recognition for his build after the Front Royal college posted it on their Facebook account.
The inspiration began when he and his younger brother, Peter Brons, began constructing a Lego city with all their pieces. “I wanted a really big gothic church for the city and then I decided why not just build Christendom Chapel,” he said. “I started it during finals, so I jokingly dedicated it to everybody going through finals.”
He spent weeks planning and assembling the chapel, completing it with its stained-glass windows, tower and botafumeiro, a large incense burner that hangs from the ceiling. “The altar was probably the hardest thing because I was trying to make it as exact as possible while still making it able to fit in the church,” he said.
The chapel is currently not on display anywhere. “I prefer to build things, take pictures, and then break them down to build more things — I do it for the experience,” he said.
This isn’t Brons’ first time building something to this scale. His first detailed build was a Lego replica of Rivendell from “Lord of the Rings.” Before beginning construction on the chapel, he designed and built a castle on top of a mountain.
Up next, he wants to build the Hogwarts castle from “Harry Potter.” St. Peter’s Basilica and Vatican City is also on his list of dream builds. “Making that huge area super detailed would be a lot of fun,” he said.
Brons is located in Sandy Springs, Ga. and attends St. Francis de Sales Church in Mableton, Ga.
