Covadonga 2026: Building peace, sending forth and mission

“The testimonies... I found them fantasticand the sort you want to remember and carry in your heart forever,” said Teresa, who was attending the Teresian Association (TA) Pilgrimage to Covadonga for the first time. “For me, it is a privilege to be here today for the TA Covadonga votive offering… and everything that is happening around the theme of peace also gives me hope,” said Yafreisy, a young woman from the Dominican Republic and a member of the TA.

They are two of the many people who came from different parts of Spain and other countries to take part in the 2026 Pilgrimage to Covadonga on 26 and 27 September. TA members, staff, former pupils and friends… all joined in this simple yet profound gesture of offering to Our Lady the fruits of TA life and mission over the past year. This event has been in the making since April, when the TA president announced the names of those who would represent the entire Association from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe. Under the motto “Way, Truth and Life”, the focus of this year’s pilgrimage has been on building peace, an urgent commitment from a faith-based perspective at a time of much violence in the world.

As dusk fell on Saturday 26th, the pilgrims began to arrive. They joined together in a prayer of praise, petition and thanksgiving prepared by the TA group from Ireland. Following the Abbot David Cueto, welcome address to the group, there was a time of invocation to the Holy Spirit, songs and readings, which invited everyone to enter into an atmosphere of praise, petition and commitment in the presence of Mary, concluding with the Magnificat.

The prayer was recorded and is available to watch here on the Sanctuary YouTube channel.

Testimonies

The presentation of the testimonies, on the morning of Sunday 27th, was led by Inés Carbajal. María Carmen Aragonés, director of the TA sector in Spain, welcomed those present and thanked the Abbot of Covadonga for making it possible to hold this annual event at the Shrine. She also expressed her gratitude to all those who help make this gathering possible every year.

Offering presenters, members of the Governing Council, Sector director and president of ACIT Norte, with some of the accompanying people.

Next, TA vice-president, Mª Rita Martín, outlined the themes of this year’s pilgrimage. “Today more than ever,” she affirmed, “in the midst of the suffering caused by violence, wars, ambition and power, let us allow the words that Saint Pedro Poveda offers us for these difficult times to resonate powerfully and with renewed and profound meaning: Gentleness conquers the earth. This was an attitude and disposition that he made his own throughout his entire life.”

The speakers presented an overview of ways in which the TA charism can be lived out today, in diverse societies, whilst facing specific challenges. They highlighted projects which, however small, help to bring about a fairer, more humane society, where peace can make headway.

Maribel Bombeo recounted various situations she had experienced with migrants and detainees through her work at Caritas Taiwan. “Sharing these stories,” she said, “fills me with a deep sense of humility. I ask myself: has my journey through the difficulties of others truly fostered peace?”

Victoria Biribe, from Guinea, a teacher at the Spanish School in Malabo, representing Africa, stated: “From my experience as a teacher, I want to continue championing education that liberates and that shapes critical and responsible citizens. As Poveda said, I want them to be people who dare to think.”

Luz Alba Santoyo, from Colombia, who was unable to attend due to health reasons, shared her courageous testimony of many years’ work in defence of human rights and the dignity of the impoverished. “I consider myself blessed,” she wrote, “because in this work I have received more than I have been able to give: boundless hope in God who is with us; love for those who have fallen by the wayside, which prevents me from remaining indifferent to the suffering of others; absolute faith that God is with us, and that is why we do not lose heart despite the mistreatment we have endured.” Her testimony has taken on the significance of a final testament, as Luz Alba passed away in Bogotá on 28 September.

Pilar Cachofeiro, from Spain, representing the TA Social Action Area in Spain, highlighted the challenges faced by the most vulnerable in this society, referring to the specific circumstances of migrants and people facing eviction. “We are convinced that the defence of human rights and the pursuit of justice are the only way to consolidate a culture of peace.” She added that the Social Action Area is “a window onto hope and a call to courageous action.”

Beatriz Díaz, from Spain, and Roxana Revetria, from Uruguay, the young people who have been forging a path since 2024 under the slogan “Stand Up for the Earth and Peace” at the TA International Youth Meeting (EIJIT). Last July 2026, they spent several days in Assisi, an experience which confirmed, as Beatriz put it, that “sharing a common space with young people from 15 different countries … is absolutely and radically possible and does not require highly elaborate strategies.”

Finally, Lorena Lampedecchia, from Ireland, a teacher at the Teresian School in Dublin, took the floor. She paid tribute to those who launched the project in 1965 and recalled the school’s motto: Joy, fortitude, love. “In times of uncertainty, at the Teresian School in Dublin we aspire to be a guiding light in society today that is forgetting fundamental values such as peace, faith and love,” she said.

The speakers’ remarks are compiled here in the attached PDF file.

This event can also be viewed in full via the recording shared on our YouTube channel.

The Mass

The proceedings continued at 12.00 with Mass in the Basilica presided over by Gonzalo José Suárez Menéndez and concelebrated by the Abbot, David Cueto, and José Antonio Montoto, director of the diocesan priests’ house.

In her introduction, Maite Collantes, president of ACIT Norte, spoke of the votive offering that the TA had come to fulfil on this day before the Santina and thanked the choir of the Castroverde School in Santanderfor their singing which was accompanied by Fernando Álvarez on the organ.

The celebrant, who had highlighted the TA’s connection with Covadonga in his welcome address, emphasised in his homily that, in order to fulfil the Lord’s will, ‘we must seek it and discern it, and not limit ourselves to legalistic attitudes or superficial gestures of false obedience’. He then, recalling Poveda’s words, added: “To give, one does not need to be rich; one simply needs to be good.”

At the moment of thanksgiving, following Communion, the people making the votive offering recited the Prayer before the image of Our Lady.

A recording of the Offering can be viewed here.

The final rendition of the hymn to Our Lady, vibrantly performed by the boys and girls of the Castroverde School choir, filled the hearts of all present with great hope for the future, as they entrusted the fruits of this pilgrimage to Saint Pedro Poveda.

Click here to watch the video of the full Mass.

Thank you, Covadonga!

For the Teresian Association, Covadonga is not merely a place to pass through, visit or sightsee; it is home and a place of the Divine Presence. The TA returns every year in response to “a deep longing of those who prayed and entrusted to Our Lady of Covadonga the growth and consolidation of the Association that came into being at her feet”, as Gregoria Ruiz, TA president, noted in the 2026 invitation letter. The TA is also grateful to have a permanent base in Covadonga at La Casina, where members can also go throughout the year to pray, study, immerse themselves in nature and the Spirit… in an atmosphere that fosters peace and fellowship.

“Above all, the pilgrimage leaves you with a desire to return,” remarked a pilgrim who travels every year from the other end of Spain, “and in my case, I always come to give thanks because this is where the Teresian Association took shape.”

TA Info.
The communications team would like to thank the people at the Shrine who made it possible to stream the events live on YouTube.
Original in Spanish, translated by TA Translations Team.