Diego Peláez was Bishop of Santiago de Compostella from 1071 to 1088.
According to the History of Compostellana, Diego Peláez was appointed by mediation of the Sancho II king of Castile, probably around 1071. About his origin, nothing is found in the history and is believed to be from Galicia. >
Santiago's bishop's seat is probably moved somewhere in the first half of the tenth century from Iria to Santiago de Compostella. The first formal confirmation of this date will not be until 1095. From the last half of the tenth century, there was probably a monastic community in Santiago. Diego Peláez began between 1075 and 1078 with the construction of the Santiago de Compostella Cathedral. Partly under the influence of the bishop, Santiago grows the Compostella into an important, internationally famous pilgrimage.
In 1085 a rebellion against then King Alfons VI of Leon began, led by Count Rodrigo Ovéquiz. Diego Peláez supported this insurgency, which made him expensive. Alfons VI defeated the insurgents and captured the bishop. In 1088 he was forced to resign by the church council of Husillos, in the presence of the king and a Pope's envoy. He was banned and spent the rest of his life in the court of King Peter I of Aragon, an enemy of Alfons VI.
Pope Urbanus II then urged Alfons to recall Diego Pelàez's seat, but King Alfons VI prevented this. During the reign of Leon, in 1090, Pedro de Cardeña, the then bishop of Santiago, was resigned, but Diègo Peláez was not re-appointed despite pressure from his political counterparts. Probably, the then Archbishop of Toledo, Bernard, representative of the Papal power in Spain, had a major role in this political game. From 1090 to 1094, the bishop's seat remained empty, and Diego Gelmírez as an observer took on the duties. He was succeeded by Bishop Dalmatius, who was part of the Order of Cluny. When Dalmatius died in 1096, Diego Peláez traveled to Rome to claim again the Santiago bishops' seat. However, nothing was decided. Again it was Diego Gelmírez who held the ropes in the diocese for four years as a deputy.
When Urbanus II died, Pope Paschalis II deceived Diego Peláez and wrote elections for a new bishop of Santiago. Diego Gelmírez was finally elected bishop.
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