Don Elias Valina Sampedro of O Cebreiro parish - a dedicated priest and scholar who devoted over 30 years of his life to the resurrection and promotion of the camino.
D Elias was appointed priest of the parish of Santa Maria La Real of O Cebreiro in 1959 when he was just 30 years old. Under his direction the church of St Mary’s as well as the ancient inn and pilgrim hospital which he described as being “little more than a dunghill” - were restored and in 1972 O Cebreiro was declared a Historical Monument.
He concentrated all of his energies on the restoration and reanimation of the camino. In 1967 he wrote his doctoral thesis on - The Road of St James: A Historical and Legal Study. He directed the - Artistic Inventory of Lugo and its Province- six large volumes of an exhaustive description of all the monuments and items that could have any value
“In the 1970’s there survived only a remote memory of the Jacobean pilgrimage” he wrote. In 1971 he wrote the book ‘Caminos a Compostela’.
In 1974 Edwin Mullins published a book “The Pilgrimage to Santiago”. In it he recounts how it was for a pilgrim on foot in the early 1970’s:
“It was more often a question of dropping into village bars and enquiring politely where the old road might be.”
In 1972 only 6 pilgrims were awarded the Compostela.
D. Elias’s guide was published in 1982 and at a gathering in Santiago in 1985 he was entrusted with the co-ordination of all the resources for the camino. Pilgrim albergues were established and he was the first to mark the way with yellow arrows with paint begged from the roads department.
Ten years later, in 1986, the Santiago Cathedral issued 2,491 certificates. In 1989, the year of the Pope’s visit (and sadly, also the year D Elias passed away) 5,760 compostelas were issued. If you are one of the estimated 600,000 pilgrims to trustingly follow the yellow arrows this year, remember the generous hand that lovingly drew them. You can see a bust of D. Elias - and a number of dedication plaques - in the churchyard.
