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Botafumeiro

One of the traditions when you arrive in Santiago is going to see the Botafumeiro swung - you are never certain if it will swing during a mass but for the past few years it has swung at the 7:30 service on a Friday as the association of hotels and restaurants in Santiago has paid the Cathedral for this.


Image from http://www.catedraldesantiago.es/en/node/482


The cost has been about €12,000 for the April-October period (to have the Botafumeiro swung in a service cost €400 per service in 2016 - this is not simply fundraising as the tiraboleiros who pull the ropes are lay persons who must be paid per use and after each use the Botafumeiro it is thoroughly cleaned and prepared for the next use). However this Friday Mass will not longer be paid for as the association says that it can no longer afford to pay.

 The Cathedral says that they won't publish the times when the Botafumeiro will be swung as they want people to go to Church simply to worship not to see the Botafumeiro.

 When I have been in Santiago though I have almost always seen it swung as there are a lot of tourist groups around April-October who are willing to pay, indeed Johnnie Walker states that in the 186 days from May to October last year the Botafumeiro was used 243 times so there is still a fair chance of seeing it in action.

 Furthermore the Cathedral website (http://www.catedraldesantiago.es/en/node/482) states that:

The Botafumeiro operates during the following Solemnities:
- The Epiphany: 6 January
- Resurrection Sunday
- The Ascension of the Lord
- The Apparition of the Apostle-Clavijo: 23 May
- Pentecost
- The Martyrdom of Saint James: 25 July
- The Assumption of Mary: 15 August
-All Saints: 1 November
-Christ the King
-The Immaculate Conception: 8 December
-Christmas: 25 December
-Transfer of the remains of the Apostle: 30 December

 The Botafumeiro can also operate for pilgrimages that have duly requested it from the Cathedral. To reserve the Botafumeiro write an email to: botafumeiro@catedraldesantiago.es.










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