Dr. K, thank you for all the hard work, giving six lectures in six different cities in Spain, back to back, and then doing the three day Pilgrimage to Covadonga, probably with a good dose of jet lag during and/or after. So you are smart and TOUGH too! King Pelayo would be proud.
Thank you enjoyed every word and every picture! At 89 years old, I’m on the uphill of my pilgrimage. thankful to have the opportunity to attend the traditional Latin mass on Sundays. we are not allowed to advertise it, but it grows in spite of restrictions Deo Gracias!
That is soooo amazing! As a young woman, I'm glad to see such a revival. It gives me hope! Sometimes, it's hard knowing that there are other people who think the same thing, that The Church is in a very bad situation. My love for ancient Catholicism is often snubbed by other people, most of whom are older and whom I should be looking up to. Hence, I am glad to see this amazing pilgrimage! Thanks, Dr. K!
Yes, we very much have to stick together among ourselves in the younger (i.e. subsequent to Boomer) generations, because the Vatican II era folks, with a few exceptions, are too far gone in the "new religion," which of course is dying.
Thank YOU, Dr. Peter Kwasniewski! This was such a tour for us, gorgeous in its countryside, gorgeous in its faithful throng of believers! Mother Mary of Covadonga, pray for us!
What a gift, to share your experience and photos! My Camino de Santiago a decade ago with a secular company, while memorable and inspiring, was sorely lacking in Catholicity. Thank you!
This was a fantastic read and the pictures much appreciated. Thank you! I could never afford a European pilgrimage, but this renews my interest and desire to do the Three Hearts Pilgrimage in OK next year.
I loved the pace of your narrative, plodding, punctuated by the private masses, by day and night, breaks for nourishment and rest. Perhaps that is how restoration will unfold, God willing, by repetition towards a goal. Though your presentation was digital, it reflected the vividness of the analog, the experience. Thanks for inviting us along, and sharing with your readers the hope this pilgrimage raised for you.
I also want to share this near quote: Ian Crouther once wrote, following Eliot, that modernity renders its devotees provincial—and most provincial when they scorn tradition in favor of the times in the pathetic attempt to keep up with them.
Thanks for keeping the rhythms of eternity on our minds in things great and small.
Not sure how to be discreet about this, but I'm wondering how it was to do this pilgrimage (or Chartres) as not the youngest one on the route? I'd like to do one of these pilgrimages, but I'm coming to this a bit late on my own pilgrimage, and maybe my efforts are better directed elsewhere...
I was a bit anxious about how I would do on such a demanding walk. I prepared for it pretty well by going on a lot of long (7-mile, 9-mile) walks at home, and also some intermittent fasting brought down my weight by some pounds. As a 54-year-old, I would say that it felt pretty doable overall, although there were moments each day when it was truly very hard to put one foot in front of the other. The nice thing about all these pilgrimages modeled after Chartres is that they have periodic stations where people who can't go any further can stop, and be driven to the evening's campsite. No one is judgmental about it; the attitude is, you've done what you can, good for you! They also have a "family route" where the distance is about half of the whole, and a good number of people choose this up-front.
Hello Mr. Kwasniewski, greetings from Spain in Christ, our Lord, and the most blessed Virgin Mary of Covadonga,
I am writing to you regarding your brief commentary on the Battle of Covadonga, which is as follows:
"The reason the spot is famous is that the aforementioned King Pelayo, vastly outnumbered by the Muslims, hid in a cave, praying about what he should do; and the Virgin Mary appeared to him, saying he should boldly go to battle, for God would fight with him and for him. Pelayo fought the superior Muslim forces and resoundingly defeated them, marking (as I said before) the start of the Reconquista of Spain."
The story wasn't exactly like this, but much more glorious and providential in fact, as we know from the oldest history of the events, probably written a few decades after the battle (see Alexander Pierre Bronisch 2006) and later inserted into the chronicle of the Goths of King Alfonso III (866-910). I am sending you a translation I have made of the part referring to Don Pelayo, since in reality this history, with a primarily theological focus, narrates the fall of Spain as a Divine punishment for the grave sins of the last two kings and the clergy, and the return of Divine favor thanks to the faith of a single man in Covadonga who didn´t take part in those sins : Don Pelayo.
THE BEGINNING OF THE RECONQUISTA ACCORDING TO THE FIRST CHRISTIAN CHRONICLES
Rot 5, 7: At that same time, a man named Munnuza, a companion of Tarik, was governor of this region of the Asturians, in the city of Gigón. This Munnuza was one of the four generals who first occupied Spain. While he was in government, a certain Pelayo, who had been the spatharian to Kings Vitiza and Rodrigo, overwhelmed by the domination of the Ishmaelites, entered Asturias with his sister. The aforementioned Munnuza sent the aforementioned Pelayo to Córdoba under the pretext of a commission, on behalf of his sister; but before he returned, through a trick, he married the sister. When he returned, he did not approve of it in any way, but with the greatest spirit prepared to put into practice what he had already planned regarding the salvation of the Church. There was a rumor throughout that region that he wanted to end the war between the Arabs and the Christians who had survived in the mountains. As soon as this was announced to the nefarious Tariq, he sent the aforementioned Munnuza one hundred armed men to arrest Pelayo and take him in chains to Córdoba as a prisoner. When they arrived in Asturias and attempted to capture him by trickery at a place called Brece (present-day Breceña in Asturias), a friend of his revealed the Chaldeans' purpose to Pelayo. But as the Saracens were in greater numbers, and as he saw that he could not confront them, he carefully escaped from their midst, spurred on, and reached the bank of the Piloña River. He found it swollen and overflowing, but swimming with the help of the horse he was riding, he crossed to the other bank and climbed the mountain. The Saracens stopped pursuing him. And he, heading for mountainous lands, gathered together all the Gothic soldiers he found gathered for a council, and, trusting in a divine oracle he had received, he climbed with them to a great mountain named Auseva and took refuge on the side of the mountain in a cave that he knew to be very safe; from this great cave flows a river called Enna. Once he had spread his orders among the Asturians, they gathered and elected Pelayo as their prince. When the soldiers who had come to arrest him learned of this, they returned to Córdoba and told their king everything: that Pelayo, for whom Munnuza had issued a warrant for his arrest, was a manifest rebel. When the king heard this, moved by a vesanic rage, he ordered an innumerable host to be sent out from all of Spain, and placed Alkama, his comrade, at the head of the army; He ordered a certain Oppa, bishop of Seville and of the see of Toledo, son of King Vitiza, through whose treachery the Goths were lost, to go to Asturias with Alkama in the army. This Alkama had received from his comrade the order that, if Pelayo did not want to listen to the bishop, he would be captured by force of battle and taken to Cordoba. And coming with the whole army, about 187,000 armed men entered Asturias.
Pelayo, for his part, was on Mount Auseva with his comrades. And the (Agaren) army marched against him, and before the entrance of the cave they pitched their countless tents. And the aforementioned Bishop Oppa, climbing to a height before Covadonga, spoke to Pelayo, saying thus:
"Pelayo, Pelayo, where are you?"
He answered him from a 'window', saying: "Here I am."
The bishop said to him: "I believe it is not hidden from you, my cousin and son, how once Spain was all governed by a single law, under the kingdom of the Goths, and shone above all other lands in wisdom and science. And when the entire army of the Goths gathered together, it was unable to withstand the onslaught of the ishmaelites; how much less will you be able to defend yourself inside that hole in the mountain, how difficult it seems to me! Rather, listen to my advice and turn your mind away from this endeavor, so that you may enjoy many goods and joys from the friendship of the chaldeans (arabs)."
To this, Pelayo responded: "Have you not read in the Holy Scriptures that the Church of the Lord is like a mustard seed (which begins as the smallest of seeds, Matthew 13:31) and from there, through the Lord's mercy, rises into something greater?" The bishop replied, "So it is written." In turn, Pelayo: "And don't you know that the Church of the Lord is like the moon, which suffers an eclipse but then returns after a time to its pristine fullness? I will neither join the friendships of the Arabs nor submit to their empire! Christ is our hope that through this small mountain ('modicum monticulum' ) that you see, Spain will be saved and the army of the Gothic gens will be restored; for we trust that through the mercy of the Lord, the promise of the Lord, that was spoken by David, will be fulfilled in us: 'I will review their iniquities with the rod, and their sins with the whip; but my mercy I will not take away from them. ' Therefore, although we have deservedly received a severe sentence, we hope for His mercy to come for the recovery of the Church, the people and the kingdom. And now, I, trusting in the mercy of Jesus Christ, I disdain this multitude of pagans and do not fear them at all. In the combat with which you threaten us, we have as our advocate before the Father the Lord Jesus Christ, who is powerfull enough to rescue us from these pagans."
Having said this, Pelayo and those who were with him, fearful of such a great enemy, seclude themselves in the cave, begging the favor of Blessed Mary, whose memory is venerated there, and they supplicate with prayers for the restoration of the Christians.
Then, turning to the army, the nefarious bishop said: "Prepare to fight, for you yourselves have heard how he answered me. As I see it is his will, you will have no peace with him except by the punishment of the sword."
And now the aforementioned Alkama orders the battle to begin. Arms are taken up, catapults are raised, slings are prepared, swords are flashed, spears are raised, and arrows are fired without ceasing. 'But in this the greatness of the Lord was not lacking': for once the stones had left the catapults and reached the church of the Ever-Virgin Holy Mary , which is inside the cave, they fell upon those who threw them and caused a great slaughter among the Chaldeans. And since ‘the Lord does not count spears, but extends palm branches to whomever He wishes', once the faithful came out of the cave to fight, the Chaldeans fled and divided into two groups. And there Bishop Oppas was immediately captured and Alkama was put to death. And in the same place 124,000 Chaldeans were killed, and the 63,000 who remained climbed to the top of Mount Auseva, and by the way of Amuesa they rushed down to the territory of Liébana. But not even these escaped the vengeance of the Lord. As they marched along the top of the mountain that is on the bank of the river called Deva, near the village called Cosgaya, it happened by an evident Judgment of God that that mountain, turning from its foundations, hurled the 63,000 men into the river in an astonishing manner, and there buried them all. Where that river, still to this day, when in winter it fills its bed and covers its banks, clearly shows traces of their weapons and bones. Do not judge this miracle as vain or fabulous, but rather remember that He who parted the waters of the Red Sea as the children of Israel passed through and drowned the Egyptians, He Himself buried under the immense mass of the mountain these Arabs who persecuted the Church of the Lord.
But the aforementioned Munnuza, upon learning of the extermination of his people's army, escaped from the coastal city of Gijón and went on the run. And when the Asturians who pursued him found him in the Clacliense/Olaliense town, they captured him and put him and his army to the sword, so that not a single Muslim remained within the Pyrenean (mountain) passes. Then, finally, the faithful gathered, the land was populated, the Church was restored, and all gave thanks together, saying: "Blessed be the name of the Lord, who strengthens those who believe in Him and destroys wicked peoples."
And a short time later, Alfonso, son of Pedro, Duke of Cantabria, descendant of the kings Liuvigilid and Recaredo, came to Asturias. He took as his wife the daughter of Pelayo, named Ermesinda. He, together with his father-in-law and also later (as king), achieved many victories. And then, at last, peace returned to the land. And 'AS THE DIGNITY OF THE NAME OF CHRIST GREW, SO DID DISSIPATE THE SCOFFED CALAMITY OF THE MUSLIMS.' And he lived on the throne for nineteen years.
He ended his life in Cangas, by natural death in the era of 775" (Annus Domini 737)
1)"Crónicas asturianas" (1985). Gil, Juan Ruiz de la Peña Solar, Juan Ignacio ISBN: 84-600-4405-X
2) "Crónica del Mundo Lucas de Tuy. Introducción, edición crítica y traducción de un fragmento del Libro Cuarto" Genaro Valencia Constantino /// Y “Antecedentes para una nueva edición de la Crónica de Don Lucas de Tuy” (1916) - Puyol y Alonso, Julio, 1865-1937
Thank you for your superb chronicle!
You're welcome. It was a pleasure to meet you, Father!
Wonderful account with gorgeous photos. Than you for sharing your pilgrimage with us!
Dr. K, thank you for all the hard work, giving six lectures in six different cities in Spain, back to back, and then doing the three day Pilgrimage to Covadonga, probably with a good dose of jet lag during and/or after. So you are smart and TOUGH too! King Pelayo would be proud.
Thank you enjoyed every word and every picture! At 89 years old, I’m on the uphill of my pilgrimage. thankful to have the opportunity to attend the traditional Latin mass on Sundays. we are not allowed to advertise it, but it grows in spite of restrictions Deo Gracias!
A Spanish priest brought me to Covadonga in 2015. What an astonishing place! Virtually unknown outside of Spain. Great article!
It was my pleasure, Ma’am.
Sigh. My heart was indeed burning within me just reading this post and poring over the photos! Thank you!!
That is soooo amazing! As a young woman, I'm glad to see such a revival. It gives me hope! Sometimes, it's hard knowing that there are other people who think the same thing, that The Church is in a very bad situation. My love for ancient Catholicism is often snubbed by other people, most of whom are older and whom I should be looking up to. Hence, I am glad to see this amazing pilgrimage! Thanks, Dr. K!
Yes, we very much have to stick together among ourselves in the younger (i.e. subsequent to Boomer) generations, because the Vatican II era folks, with a few exceptions, are too far gone in the "new religion," which of course is dying.
Thank YOU, Dr. Peter Kwasniewski! This was such a tour for us, gorgeous in its countryside, gorgeous in its faithful throng of believers! Mother Mary of Covadonga, pray for us!
What a gift, to share your experience and photos! My Camino de Santiago a decade ago with a secular company, while memorable and inspiring, was sorely lacking in Catholicity. Thank you!
This was a fantastic read and the pictures much appreciated. Thank you! I could never afford a European pilgrimage, but this renews my interest and desire to do the Three Hearts Pilgrimage in OK next year.
Thank you, dear Dr. Kwasniewski! A captivating account! A real pleasure to have finally met you in person!
That looked absolutely wonderful! What a tremendous experience!
Thank you for this report of such a glorious time.
I loved the pace of your narrative, plodding, punctuated by the private masses, by day and night, breaks for nourishment and rest. Perhaps that is how restoration will unfold, God willing, by repetition towards a goal. Though your presentation was digital, it reflected the vividness of the analog, the experience. Thanks for inviting us along, and sharing with your readers the hope this pilgrimage raised for you.
I also want to share this near quote: Ian Crouther once wrote, following Eliot, that modernity renders its devotees provincial—and most provincial when they scorn tradition in favor of the times in the pathetic attempt to keep up with them.
Thanks for keeping the rhythms of eternity on our minds in things great and small.
Not sure how to be discreet about this, but I'm wondering how it was to do this pilgrimage (or Chartres) as not the youngest one on the route? I'd like to do one of these pilgrimages, but I'm coming to this a bit late on my own pilgrimage, and maybe my efforts are better directed elsewhere...
I was a bit anxious about how I would do on such a demanding walk. I prepared for it pretty well by going on a lot of long (7-mile, 9-mile) walks at home, and also some intermittent fasting brought down my weight by some pounds. As a 54-year-old, I would say that it felt pretty doable overall, although there were moments each day when it was truly very hard to put one foot in front of the other. The nice thing about all these pilgrimages modeled after Chartres is that they have periodic stations where people who can't go any further can stop, and be driven to the evening's campsite. No one is judgmental about it; the attitude is, you've done what you can, good for you! They also have a "family route" where the distance is about half of the whole, and a good number of people choose this up-front.
Hello Mr. Kwasniewski, greetings from Spain in Christ, our Lord, and the most blessed Virgin Mary of Covadonga,
I am writing to you regarding your brief commentary on the Battle of Covadonga, which is as follows:
"The reason the spot is famous is that the aforementioned King Pelayo, vastly outnumbered by the Muslims, hid in a cave, praying about what he should do; and the Virgin Mary appeared to him, saying he should boldly go to battle, for God would fight with him and for him. Pelayo fought the superior Muslim forces and resoundingly defeated them, marking (as I said before) the start of the Reconquista of Spain."
The story wasn't exactly like this, but much more glorious and providential in fact, as we know from the oldest history of the events, probably written a few decades after the battle (see Alexander Pierre Bronisch 2006) and later inserted into the chronicle of the Goths of King Alfonso III (866-910). I am sending you a translation I have made of the part referring to Don Pelayo, since in reality this history, with a primarily theological focus, narrates the fall of Spain as a Divine punishment for the grave sins of the last two kings and the clergy, and the return of Divine favor thanks to the faith of a single man in Covadonga who didn´t take part in those sins : Don Pelayo.
THE BEGINNING OF THE RECONQUISTA ACCORDING TO THE FIRST CHRISTIAN CHRONICLES
Rot 5, 7: At that same time, a man named Munnuza, a companion of Tarik, was governor of this region of the Asturians, in the city of Gigón. This Munnuza was one of the four generals who first occupied Spain. While he was in government, a certain Pelayo, who had been the spatharian to Kings Vitiza and Rodrigo, overwhelmed by the domination of the Ishmaelites, entered Asturias with his sister. The aforementioned Munnuza sent the aforementioned Pelayo to Córdoba under the pretext of a commission, on behalf of his sister; but before he returned, through a trick, he married the sister. When he returned, he did not approve of it in any way, but with the greatest spirit prepared to put into practice what he had already planned regarding the salvation of the Church. There was a rumor throughout that region that he wanted to end the war between the Arabs and the Christians who had survived in the mountains. As soon as this was announced to the nefarious Tariq, he sent the aforementioned Munnuza one hundred armed men to arrest Pelayo and take him in chains to Córdoba as a prisoner. When they arrived in Asturias and attempted to capture him by trickery at a place called Brece (present-day Breceña in Asturias), a friend of his revealed the Chaldeans' purpose to Pelayo. But as the Saracens were in greater numbers, and as he saw that he could not confront them, he carefully escaped from their midst, spurred on, and reached the bank of the Piloña River. He found it swollen and overflowing, but swimming with the help of the horse he was riding, he crossed to the other bank and climbed the mountain. The Saracens stopped pursuing him. And he, heading for mountainous lands, gathered together all the Gothic soldiers he found gathered for a council, and, trusting in a divine oracle he had received, he climbed with them to a great mountain named Auseva and took refuge on the side of the mountain in a cave that he knew to be very safe; from this great cave flows a river called Enna. Once he had spread his orders among the Asturians, they gathered and elected Pelayo as their prince. When the soldiers who had come to arrest him learned of this, they returned to Córdoba and told their king everything: that Pelayo, for whom Munnuza had issued a warrant for his arrest, was a manifest rebel. When the king heard this, moved by a vesanic rage, he ordered an innumerable host to be sent out from all of Spain, and placed Alkama, his comrade, at the head of the army; He ordered a certain Oppa, bishop of Seville and of the see of Toledo, son of King Vitiza, through whose treachery the Goths were lost, to go to Asturias with Alkama in the army. This Alkama had received from his comrade the order that, if Pelayo did not want to listen to the bishop, he would be captured by force of battle and taken to Cordoba. And coming with the whole army, about 187,000 armed men entered Asturias.
(I continue in another comment)
Pelayo, for his part, was on Mount Auseva with his comrades. And the (Agaren) army marched against him, and before the entrance of the cave they pitched their countless tents. And the aforementioned Bishop Oppa, climbing to a height before Covadonga, spoke to Pelayo, saying thus:
"Pelayo, Pelayo, where are you?"
He answered him from a 'window', saying: "Here I am."
The bishop said to him: "I believe it is not hidden from you, my cousin and son, how once Spain was all governed by a single law, under the kingdom of the Goths, and shone above all other lands in wisdom and science. And when the entire army of the Goths gathered together, it was unable to withstand the onslaught of the ishmaelites; how much less will you be able to defend yourself inside that hole in the mountain, how difficult it seems to me! Rather, listen to my advice and turn your mind away from this endeavor, so that you may enjoy many goods and joys from the friendship of the chaldeans (arabs)."
To this, Pelayo responded: "Have you not read in the Holy Scriptures that the Church of the Lord is like a mustard seed (which begins as the smallest of seeds, Matthew 13:31) and from there, through the Lord's mercy, rises into something greater?" The bishop replied, "So it is written." In turn, Pelayo: "And don't you know that the Church of the Lord is like the moon, which suffers an eclipse but then returns after a time to its pristine fullness? I will neither join the friendships of the Arabs nor submit to their empire! Christ is our hope that through this small mountain ('modicum monticulum' ) that you see, Spain will be saved and the army of the Gothic gens will be restored; for we trust that through the mercy of the Lord, the promise of the Lord, that was spoken by David, will be fulfilled in us: 'I will review their iniquities with the rod, and their sins with the whip; but my mercy I will not take away from them. ' Therefore, although we have deservedly received a severe sentence, we hope for His mercy to come for the recovery of the Church, the people and the kingdom. And now, I, trusting in the mercy of Jesus Christ, I disdain this multitude of pagans and do not fear them at all. In the combat with which you threaten us, we have as our advocate before the Father the Lord Jesus Christ, who is powerfull enough to rescue us from these pagans."
Having said this, Pelayo and those who were with him, fearful of such a great enemy, seclude themselves in the cave, begging the favor of Blessed Mary, whose memory is venerated there, and they supplicate with prayers for the restoration of the Christians.
Then, turning to the army, the nefarious bishop said: "Prepare to fight, for you yourselves have heard how he answered me. As I see it is his will, you will have no peace with him except by the punishment of the sword."
And now the aforementioned Alkama orders the battle to begin. Arms are taken up, catapults are raised, slings are prepared, swords are flashed, spears are raised, and arrows are fired without ceasing. 'But in this the greatness of the Lord was not lacking': for once the stones had left the catapults and reached the church of the Ever-Virgin Holy Mary , which is inside the cave, they fell upon those who threw them and caused a great slaughter among the Chaldeans. And since ‘the Lord does not count spears, but extends palm branches to whomever He wishes', once the faithful came out of the cave to fight, the Chaldeans fled and divided into two groups. And there Bishop Oppas was immediately captured and Alkama was put to death. And in the same place 124,000 Chaldeans were killed, and the 63,000 who remained climbed to the top of Mount Auseva, and by the way of Amuesa they rushed down to the territory of Liébana. But not even these escaped the vengeance of the Lord. As they marched along the top of the mountain that is on the bank of the river called Deva, near the village called Cosgaya, it happened by an evident Judgment of God that that mountain, turning from its foundations, hurled the 63,000 men into the river in an astonishing manner, and there buried them all. Where that river, still to this day, when in winter it fills its bed and covers its banks, clearly shows traces of their weapons and bones. Do not judge this miracle as vain or fabulous, but rather remember that He who parted the waters of the Red Sea as the children of Israel passed through and drowned the Egyptians, He Himself buried under the immense mass of the mountain these Arabs who persecuted the Church of the Lord.
But the aforementioned Munnuza, upon learning of the extermination of his people's army, escaped from the coastal city of Gijón and went on the run. And when the Asturians who pursued him found him in the Clacliense/Olaliense town, they captured him and put him and his army to the sword, so that not a single Muslim remained within the Pyrenean (mountain) passes. Then, finally, the faithful gathered, the land was populated, the Church was restored, and all gave thanks together, saying: "Blessed be the name of the Lord, who strengthens those who believe in Him and destroys wicked peoples."
And a short time later, Alfonso, son of Pedro, Duke of Cantabria, descendant of the kings Liuvigilid and Recaredo, came to Asturias. He took as his wife the daughter of Pelayo, named Ermesinda. He, together with his father-in-law and also later (as king), achieved many victories. And then, at last, peace returned to the land. And 'AS THE DIGNITY OF THE NAME OF CHRIST GREW, SO DID DISSIPATE THE SCOFFED CALAMITY OF THE MUSLIMS.' And he lived on the throne for nineteen years.
He ended his life in Cangas, by natural death in the era of 775" (Annus Domini 737)
1)"Crónicas asturianas" (1985). Gil, Juan Ruiz de la Peña Solar, Juan Ignacio ISBN: 84-600-4405-X
2) "Crónica del Mundo Lucas de Tuy. Introducción, edición crítica y traducción de un fragmento del Libro Cuarto" Genaro Valencia Constantino /// Y “Antecedentes para una nueva edición de la Crónica de Don Lucas de Tuy” (1916) - Puyol y Alonso, Julio, 1865-1937
Thank you for sharing this account!