TVE’s “Commando Actualidad” program visits the Monasteries of Yuso and Suso in San Millán de la Cogolla, attended by friars of the Order of Augustinian Recollects present there, as well as throughout the valley, since 1878.
The two monasteries of Yuso and Suso have recently celebrated 20 years since they were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on 4 December 1997 for historical, artistic, religious, linguistic and literary reasons.
They are known for being “the cradle of Castilian” because in the walls of this monastery was where more than a thousand years ago, monks wrote the first words in romance: a language that, evolved, today we know as Castilian or Spanish.
The OAR community of the Monasteries of Yuso and Suso
From 1878 a community of friars of the Order of Augustinian Recollects attends the monasteries as well as the pastoral and spiritual needs of the towns of the valley. Currently the community is made up of 8 friars from the OAR. This community of friars, like the other communities of the Order in the world, dedicate their lives to prayer and work and concretely in the Monasteries of Yuso, in addition, they investigate in the library and file, study, attend the Visits and care for older or sick friars.