San Pelayo de Antealtares Monastery

The Real Mosteiro of San Paio de Antealtares is currently a Spanish convent of cloistered Benedictine nuns, which has belonged to the Benedictine Order since its foundation. It is located in the old town, opposite the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, closing the Plaza de la Quintana.

Antealtares was originally a monastery of monks dedicated to Saint Peter. Towards the middle of the 12th century, Saint Peter was relieved as the titular Pelayo, the Galician child martyr.

Its community was an essential part, from the early Middle Ages, of the devotional and cultural core of the "Locus Santi Jacobi" founded by Alfonso II of Asturias, the chaste, in the first quarter of the 9th century. Its work centred on the care of the Altar of the Apostle, liturgical service and the care of the first pilgrims. With the dedication of the monks of Antealtares, Compostela became a great focus of spirituality and culture.

In 1499, the reformer Fray Rodrigo de Valencia, by order of the Catholic Monarchs, decided that this monastery should be the centre of the reform of the Order's female monasteries in Galicia, the foundation and endowment being confirmed by papal bulls of Innocent VIII and Alexander VI and the authority of the General Chapter of the Congregation of Valladolid on 23 July 1499.

Five hundred years after this event, the Followers of the Saint of Nuria continue in Antealtares as the only monastic presence, but in continuity with those of the Order that the city of Santiago had since its origins at the beginning of the 9th century.

Article obtained from Wikipedia article Wikipedia in his version of 12/05/2022, by various authors under the license Licencia de Documentación Libre GNU.