Young Shepherd Pep Naudi Leads 300 Sheep in Andorra's Setúria Blessing Parade

Pep Naudi, the 26-year-old shepherd from La Massana, led around 300 sheep through the parish centre on Saturday morning as part of the Setúria blessing celebrations, marking the start of the summer grazing season for the area's 1,500-sheep flock. The animals moved along Avinguda Sant Antoni and Avinguda del Ravell, from the Costes de Teixidó roundabout to Prat Gran, drawing crowds of locals and tourists. Now in its second year, the urban transhumance display—UNESCO-listed as Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2023—aims to showcase herding traditions and the sector's role in maintaining mountain landscapes, biodiversity, and fire prevention through grazing.

Naudi, who overwinters his own 50 sheep at his Sispony farm, will oversee the full flock across Setúria and later Arans and Comapedrosa, alongside some 350 cattle and horses. The procession preceded the main event at the newly reopened Serrat de l'Esmaligat, where a priest blessed the livestock. Parish minor consul Roger Fité handed out commemorative berets to herders, praising Naudi's potential for generational renewal and long-serving cowherd Rosa Vidal's more than 40 years on the job. "We believed in him," Fité said, adding that a successful season could position Naudi as a future flock leader. He also outlined parish upgrades, including a 700-metre, €40,000 trench for electricity and fibre optics to the Setúria cowherd cabin—built in-house due to contractor shortages—with a full renovation set for next year.

The day featured a popular lunch with local products such as meat from Ramaders d'Andorra, sausages from Cal Jordi, coca masegada from Forn Xamba, mató from Casa Raubert, and honey from Pastador, organised by the Confraria de Sant Antoni with government and Ramaders d'Andorra support. Sheep for the parade came from Casa Llumeneres in Sant Julià de Lòria. Music from duo Lurretik—"from the land" in Basque—filled the afternoon, followed by a public burger event in Pal.

Environment, Agriculture and Livestock Minister Guillem Casal underscored the challenges of mountain pastoralism and government backing, including funding for Comapedrosa refuge herders and progress on a shepherd relief pool tied to the Bruna d'Andorra centre. Naudi, whose family switched from cattle to tourism before he returned to sheep post-pandemic, described the work's rewards and rigours. "The mountain benefits from grazing, but it needs more water," he noted, encouraging those suited to the lifestyle to consider it.