At 103, he walked 20 km a day to beg on the streets and then donated $46,000 to orphanages and churches: Meet the 'saint' of Bulgaria
How Bulgaria's 'saint' spent decades walking 20 km with a plastic cup Where the money really went Why Bulgaria embraced him as a living saint
How Bulgaria's 'saint' spent decades walking 20 km with a plastic cup Where the money really went Why Bulgaria embraced him as a living saint The challenge of measuring a life like this What remains after the coins are gone On a busy day in Sofia, Bulgaria's capital, passersby would often spot an elderly man standing quietly outside churches with a plastic cup in his hand. His clothes were worn. His beard was long and white. To many, he looked like a homeless pensioner trying to survive on spare change. Yet there was something unusual about the way people greeted him. Some stopped to kiss his hand. Others bowed their heads respectfully. The man collecting coins was not asking for money for himself. Day after day, year after year, he was gathering donations that would eventually amount to more than $46,000, money he would give away almost entirely to orphanages, churches and charitable causes.His name was Dobri Dobrev, though most Bulgarians knew him simply as Grandpa Dobri.Born in 1914 in the village of Bailovo, he lived through some of the most turbulent periods of the twentieth century. He lost his father during World War I and later suffered severe hearing damage during World War II after a bomb exploded near him.By the time he became a familiar figure on the streets of Sofia, Dobrev had already lived through wars, political upheaval and economic hardship.Yet the role that would make him famous arrived late in life.Instead of spending his retirement quietly, he adopted an ascetic lifestyle centred on faith and service.
He gave up most of his possessions, moved into a small room belonging to a local church and dedicated himself to helping institutions that were struggling to survive.For decades, he travelled between Bailovo and Sofia carrying little more than a plastic cup and an unwavering sense of purpose.The journey itself became part of the legend.Bailovo sits roughly 20 kilometres from Sofia, a distance that many people would think twice about covering on foot even in their younger years. Dobrev continued making the trip well into old age. Some days he walked the entire route. On others, he combined walking with public transport.Age did not appear to alter the routine.Residents grew accustomed to seeing him outside landmarks such as the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, one of Bulgaria's most recognisable religious buildings. Tourists often mistook him for a beggar. Locals knew there was more to the story.Coins dropped into his cup rarely stayed with him for long.Dobrev kept only enough to cover the basics. The rest was carefully directed towards churches, monasteries, orphanages and restoration projects that needed support.The donations were far from symbolic.Over the years, Dobrev gave away more than 80,000 Bulgarian lev, equivalent to more than $46,000. For a man living on a modest pension and owning almost nothing, it was an extraordinary sum.One donation alone amounted to 35,700 lev for Sofia's Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Church officials described it as the largest private donation the cathedral had received in modern times.Other contributions helped restore monasteries and support local churches that had struggled financially following decades of communist rule, when religious institutions often faced restrictions and neglect.The recipients varied, but the principle remained the same.
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