We had Mass here today in Covadonga. The reconquest of the Iberian peninsula started here. It took 800 years. Long ago, in the early 8th century, the Iberian Peninsula was shaken by a great wave of conquest. The mighty Umayyad armies had swept across the land, conquering kingdoms and spreading their rule. Amidst this turmoil, a small nobleman named Pelayo—a descendant of the old Visigothic kings—found refuge in the rugged mountains of northern Spain. Pelayo was not a man to bow easily. In the wi