What’s the fuss about the “Botafumeiro”, you may ask. Well, a dome above the crossing contains the pulley mechanism to swing the Botafumeiro, which is a famous thurible found in the church created by the goldsmith José Losada in 1851. The Santiago de Compostela Botafumeiro is the largest censer in the world, weighing 80kg and measuring 1.60m in height. It is normally on exhibition in the library of the cathedral, but during certain important religious high days, it is attached to the pulley mechanism, filled with 40kg of charcoal and incense. In the Jubilee Years, whenever St. James' Day falls on a Sunday, the Botafumeiro is also attached in all the Pilgrims' Masses.
Eight red-robed tiraboleiros pull the ropes and bring it into a swinging motion almost to the roof of the transept, reaching speeds of 60 km/h and dispensing thick clouds of incense. I had goose bumps as the censer swung from one end to the other. Simply jaw-dropping! The pictures below would show the sequence of how it was done. One explanation of this custom, which originated more than 700 years ago—although incense has been used in Catholic ritual from the earliest times—is that it assisted in masking the stench emanating from hundreds of unwashed pilgrims. Hmmmm…..really???
The censer as it hangs from the church ceiling…..
Close-up view…….
The tiraboleiros getting ready…..
Incense being put into the censer…….
Incense is starting to emit smoke……
The tiraboleiros prepare to swing…..
Censer swinging to and fro……
Censer finally coming to a halt
Before the swinging of the censer, a procession was held where the “head” of St. James (as you know he was beheaded) was carried around the altar.
Then mass was said in Galician dialect, although Fr. Jerry was allowed to read the Gospel in English. I was awestruck during the entire time that the mass was celebrated. It simply was an amazing experience. I really felt so blessed to have been able to experience the swinging of the censer because it doesn’t happen everyday.
After mass, we left for Portugal. Again, another country. Another language.
At a pit stop on the way to Portugal, Grace and Sheila, birthday celebrants for June, bought ice cream for the entire group. It was a welcome treat considering that the temps had soared to a humid 25 degrees (C) by mid afternoon. By the time we arrived in Portugal, we had to set back our clocks one hour as Portugal is 1 hour behind Spain.
Portugal, as we all know, is often overshadowed by travel to its bigger neighbor of Spain. However, Portugal is such an unspoilt gem on the tourist map of Europe. It has a blustery yet rich history of nautical discovery that dates back to the 15th century when Portuguese expeditions were in search of an access to India. Portugal travel will inevitably lead tourists to the links of the past in the legacy left behind in ancient buildings and monuments in the country.
Contemporary Portugal will keep visitors busy with a number of World Heritage sites, natural wonders and cultural surprises, as well as incredible diversity and beauty with the added fringe of affable and friendly people. Common sights include attractive whitewashed houses topped with red-tiled roofs, golden, sandy beaches, traditional fishing villages, or an expansive stretch of rugged coastline. Indeed, Portugal presents infinite possibilities.
Our first stop was Coimbra, a city built on a hill with a glorious past, a poetic soul and a unique sound. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, Coimbra is better known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which, established in 1290, is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the Portuguese-speaking world.
Coimbra is one of the most important urban centres in Portugal, after the much larger Lisbon and Porto, playing a central role in the interior of the country. The local guide quoted a saying in Portugal:
In Braga, we pray
In Porto, we work
In Coimbra, we study
In Lisbon, we spend and enjoy
So it was not surprising when we stopped at the University of Coimbra for a quick tour. The temps at this time had soared to a toasty 30 degrees (C). Yet, I did not mind because the views were simply stunning!
From the university, we strolled down to the Carmelite Convent of St. Teresa where Sister Lucia, one of the three seers of Fatima, lived for many years and died on February 13, 2005. I’ll talk about Sister Lucia in detail later.
After my usual 3 wishes and photo ops at the convent, we strolled back to our bus.
Thereafter, we motored towards Fatima. Along the way, one can find pretty squares and winding alleyways adorned by tumbling displays of vegetables and flowers. But in spite of Coimbra's parochial charms, the educated and style-savvy populace ensures shops, bars and cafés are often brimming with modern design and quirky originality.
We arrived at Fatima late in the afternoon and immediately checked in into our hotel, Hotel Regina, which is a 5-minute walk to the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima itself.
As you should know by now, every year, millions of pilgrims travel to two of the greatest Catholic sanctuaries in Europe: Lourdes in France and Fatima in Portugal. Both places were the sites of apparitions of the Virgin Mary to young children - 1858 in Lourdes and 1917 in Fatima. Over time, the attraction of these pilgrimage destinations has continued to grow and people from all over the world come to pray and participate in religious ceremonies in search of unique spiritual experiences and a deeper understanding of their Christian faith. And I am one of them.
I have narrated in detail about Our Lady of Lourdes, so allow me now to narrate in detail about Our Lady of Fatima.
By way of introduction, Fátima is a small town located north of Lisbon, capital of Portugal. Fátima is a major Catholic pilgrimage site because of reported sightings of the Virgin Mary in 1917 by three local shepherd children.
On the 13th of each month from May to October 1917, the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to three shepherd children - Lúcia dos Santos (age 10) and her cousins Jacinta (age 7) and Francisco Marto (age 9) - in the fields outside the village of Aljustrel near Fatima. The children later said that her coming had been preceded by an "angel of peace" who appeared in 1916. Lúcia described her vision of Mary as "more brilliant than the sun, shedding rays of light clearer and stronger than a crystal glass filled with the most sparkling water and pierced by the burning rays of the sun."
According to Lúcia's account, Mary exhorted the children to do penance to save sinners. They wore tight cords around their waists to cause pain, abstained from drinking water on hot days, and other works of penance. Most importantly, she asked them to say the Rosary every day. She reiterated many times that devotion to the Rosary was the key to personal and world peace. Many young Portuguese men, including relatives of the visionaries, were then fighting in World War I.
Lúcia later reported that during the second apparition on June 13, the Virgin Mary predicted the deaths of two of the children. When Lúcia asked the Virgin to take them to heaven soon, Mary replied, "Yes, I shall take Jacinta and Francisco soon, but you will remain a little longer, since Jesus wishes you to make me known and loved on earth. He wishes also for you to establish devotion in the world to my Immaculate Heart."
On July 13, the Virgin is said to have revealed the Three Secrets of Fatima to the children, which consist of prophecies about the future and have been the focus of much interest ever since. The secrets were not written down until 1941, when Lúcia was asked to compose memoirs about Fatima and her cousins so their canonization proceedings could begin.
The first secret described a horrific vision of Hell. The second secret foretold the end of World War I and the beginning of World War II and called for the "Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary." Many believe Pope John Paul II fulfilled this request in 1984 by giving a blessing over the world, including Russia, shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union. There is some confusion as to whether Sister Lúcia believed this fulfilled the request of Mary.
The Vatican kept the third secret under wraps until Easter 2000 – despite Lúcia's declaration that it could be released to the public after 1960. The officially released text of the third secret was unspecific in nature, leaving it open to various interpretations. The vague nature of the secret has led to speculation that the Vatican did not release its entire contents.
The secret speaks of a pope being killed by soldiers at the foot of a cross on top of a mountain, along with many other bishops and priests. The Church's interpretation is that this predicts the May 13, 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II by Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Ağca in Saint Peter's Square. John Paul himself credited Our Lady of Fatima with saving his life, saying he saw her intervening to deflect the gunman's arm and he maintained consciousness on the ride to the hospital by keeping his mind focused on her.
On her last visit on October 13, a crowd of 70,000 people, including reporters from anti-religious newspapers, gathered in a torrential rainstorm to witness the scheduled arrival of the Virgin Mary, which led to the famous Sun Miracle of Fatima. Around noon, many of the observers testified they saw wondrous things in the heavens: the rain clouds parted, the "sky opened up" and the sun seemed to spin in the sky, change colors, or go completely dark for several minutes, before appearing to plunge towards the earth.
Some feared it was the Last Judgment. Many agreed that a major miracle had occurred. Only the children saw the Virgin appear, however. One of those who witnessed and reported the strange solar phenomena was Avelino de Almeida, a reporter who had ridiculed the so-called miracles at Fatima in previous articles. His photographer did not see it, but shot pictures of the mesmerized crowd looking into the sky. There is no independent verification of the solar phenomenon, and no movement or other phenomenon of the sun was registered by scientists at the time.
Francisco and Jacinta Marto both fell victim to the Great Spanish Flu Epidemic of 1919. Exhumed in 1935 and again in 1951, Jacinta's body was found incorrupt, while Francisco's had decomposed. Francisco and Jacinta were declared "venerable" by Pope John Paul II in a public ceremony at Fatima on May 13, 1989, and John Paul returned on May 13, 2000, to declare them "blessed." Jacinta is the youngest non-martyred child ever to be beatified.
Lúcia reported seeing the Virgin again in 1925 at the Dorothean convent at Pontevedra, Spain, and was asked to convey the message of the First Saturday Devotions. Lúcia was transferred to a convent in Tuy, Spain, in 1928. In 1929, Lúcia reported that Mary returned and repeated her request for the Consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart. Lúcia reportedly saw Mary in private visions off and on throughout her life. Most significant was the apparition in Rianxo, Spain in 1931, in which Jesus taught Sister Lúcia two prayers and delivered a message to give to the hierarchy of the Church.
In 1947, Sister Lúcia left the Dorothean order and joined the Carmelite order in a convent in Coimbra, Portugal. She died on February 13, 2005 at the age of 97. The date is significant for Fatima devotees, being on the 13th day of the month. After her death, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (then head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) ordered her cell sealed off, perhaps to examine it for Lúcia's canonization proceedings.
Anyhow, after dinner of good food and wine, Marilyn, Grace and I ambled our way towards the Shrine to check it out. Our first stop was the Chapel of Apparitions, an open-air chapel built on the site of the appearances. It is open year-round for regular services. The original chapel was built in 1919, then blown up on the night of March 6, 1922 by those who suspected the church of staging the miracles. Inside the modern chapel is a single white column over the site of a small Holm oak tree over which the Virgin Mary appeared on May 13, 1917. That oak fell victim to souvenir collectors long ago, but a large replacement tree grows near the entrance to the sanctuary by the rectory.
The primary building at the shrine is the Basilica of Our Lady of Fatima, a gleaming neoclassical church that begun on May 13, 1928, and consecrated on October 7, 1953. Its slender central spire rises 65 meters high.
The church is flanked by monumental colonnades and overlooks a large open plaza, the center of which is occupied by a Monument to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Thereafter, we slowly strolled back to our hotel, browsed through the shops along the way, and then called it a night.
To Be Continued.....
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