Monastery and Hospital of Santa María do Cebreiro
Mosteiro de Santa María do Cebreiro / Santuario do Cebreiro
(Pedrafita do Cebreiro, Lugo)
This is an ancient monastery, possibly founded in the mid-9th century, associated with a hospital that assisted travelers at this prominent point on the Way of Saint James. It is located between Galicia and Castile, at the Pedrafita do Cebreiro pass, at an altitude of approximately 1.100 meters. The monastery of O Cebreiro is mentioned in a privilege granted by Alfonso III (c. 848-910) in the year 883, which states that it had been restored by Sisnando, bishop of Iria Flavia and former monk of this monastery, who in 869 had already left Cebreiro to move to the diocese of Iria.
In 1072, Alfonso VI (c. 1047-1109) entrusted the monastery and hospital to Saint-Géraud d'Aurillac, an independent abbey closely linked to Cluny (Saône-et-Loire). According to an undocumented tradition, the promoter of this monastery might have been Saint Gerald (855–909), founder of Saint-Géraud d'Aurillac (Cantal). The house of O Cebreiro became part of the Cluniac reform, during which it played a key role in assisting pilgrims traveling through this location on their way to Santiago de Compostela. By 1487, the monastery was in decline, and restoration efforts were undertaken, severing its ties with Aurillac and placing it under the authority of the monastery of San Vicente do Pino. In 1496, a bull issued by Alexander VI subjected it to the jurisdiction of San Benito de Valladolid.
The site was the setting for the Miracle of the Holy Grail, which tradition dates to the year 1300. A chalice and paten associated with this event are preserved. O Cebreiro was occupied and burned during the Peninsular War, a time when much of its documentation and history were lost. After the ecclesiastical confiscations, it was abandoned until 1854, when the church resumed its role as a parish. It is a pre-Romanesque building that has undergone numerous modifications and houses a Romanesque image of the Virgin Mary, which has been restored and significantly altered.
Chalice and paten of the Miracle of the Holy Grail
Virgin and Child
- FREIRE CAMANIEL, José (1998). El monacato gallego en la alta edad media, vol. II. La Corunya: Fund. Pedro Barrié de la Maza
- PÉREZ GONZÁLEZ, José María; dir. (2018). Enciclopedia del Románico en Galicia. Lugo. Aguilar de Campoo: Fundación Santa María la Real
- PÉREZ RODRÍGUEZ, Francisco Javier (2008). Mosteiros de Galicia na Idade Media. Ourense: Deputación Provincial de Ourense
- RODRÍGUEZ LAJUSTICIA, Francisco S. (2019). La recuperación de un privilegio perdido de Alfonso IX al hospital de peregrinos de Santa María de O Cebreiro (1186) a partir de una copia del siglo XIX. Cuadernos de Estudios Gallegos, núm. 132
- SÁ BRAVO, Hipólito de (1972). El monacato en Galicia. Vol. 1. La Corunya: Librigal
- YEPES, Antonio de (reed. 1960). Crónica General de la Orden de San Benito. Vol. II. Madrid: Atlas
Santa María do Cebreiro is located in Pedrafita do Cebreiro, at the pass of the same name between Castile and Galicia. It is a prominent point on the Way of Saint James.