If you travel across the Atlantic to visit the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, you will find the famous botafumeiro—a large, silver-plated brass thurible, or censer, used for centuries to the delight and awe of pilgrims and faithful. It is hung from a pulley high above the crossing tower of the cathedral and on special occasions swung across the Sanctuary by eight men pulling the other end of the rope. This historic practice of reverencing Christ the King with such beauty and grandeur inspired the Christendom community, and, thanks to God’s grace, talented craftsmen, and generous donors, the traditional structure has made its way across the pond—the college’s very own botafumeiro now residing in Christ the King Chapel in the Shenandoah Valley.
Several challenges presented themselves for this unique chapel project. The first was locating someone with the talent to create a thurible of such a large size that would be a worthy cousin of the Santiago piece. Artist and college alumna, the late Mandy Hain, suggested speaking with Heritage Liturgical. Led by Enzo Selvaggi, Heritage specializes in designing and crafting fine liturgical furnishings for churches nationwide. In addition to the Christendom botafumeiro, Heritage Liturgical provided art direction for the Pietà sculpture and the bronze Christ the King sculpture in the chapel piazza.
This story comes from the latest issue of Instaurare Magazine, the official magazine of Christendom College. Read more from Instaurare here!
In the fall of 2021, the college began working with Heritage on the design which originally resembled the Santiago censer. Later, a far more ambitious—and larger—Gothic-styled design was proposed in keeping with the style of the new chapel. Heritage presented renowned silversmith Emilio León, based in Cordoba, Spain, to execute the design finalized by Enzo Selvaggi and the Christendom team. Interestingly, León had taken part in the restoration of the original Santiago thurible in years past. Maestro León took on the laborious process of working the metal—modeling, sculpting, turning, and chiseling—that would take nearly two years to complete.
Silversmith Emilio León explains his process and passion for his work in an exclusive interview.
Emilio León’s life is marked by the love of his craft. Early in his life, the fellow members of his Cordoban confraternity tasked him with safekeeping the gold and silver pieces unveiled during special Holy Week processions. The elaborate craftsmanship of these pieces inspired a young Emilio, and he felt the calling to create more pieces like them for the Church. He pursued gold and silver smithing classes in Cordoba to master the trade.
León’s work philosophy is centered on the quality of the finished product. He says he strives to do great things, “never with any airs, rather, simply because the work is well done, both mine and my team’s. And every day, that’s the battle […] for the value of the work itself.”
Emilio León in his workshop in Cordoba, Spain.
The college thurible shares some common traits with its Spanish inspiration, including a large brass basin sitting on a pedestal or “foot” that will contain the charcoal and incense. Above the bowl rests a unique, eight-sided lid presenting as a Gothic-styled architectural cupola. Four structural chains are attached to gargoyle lion heads around the bowl, passing through standoff loops at the lid and terminating several feet above at an ornamental cap piece affectionately called a sombrero. A welded steel frame inside the bowl and the cap provides the necessary structural support to withstand the gravitational forces that triple the thurible’s 180 pounds when weighed at full swing. All the intricate details over the surface were hand-chased or embossed, including various arches, trefoils, and tiled roofing. The base of the foot, only viewable from below, is engraved with the college seal. The entire structure was finished by plating in a silver bath.
The second major hurdle was designing the support, rigging, and specialized pulley system to make the thurible swing. The chapel architects, O’Brien & Keane, proposed the initial concept of a fixed pulley supported midway up in the crossing tower, suspended above the main chapel sanctuary. Because the whole system is not a permanent part of the chapel and needs to be installed and removed after use, this added another layer of complexity to the process.
The first time the thurible is tested in the chapel on April 23, 2024.
Structural engineer John Stevenson of Morrison Engineers joined the team to provide system and loading support design. Additionally, former Disney Imagineer Jason Davis was brought on board to manage the design and fabrication of the specialized pulley system, a massive 2-inch diameter rope, and certified rigging cabling. Local steel fabricator Albert Andersen of Greenway Welding produced the steel A-frame structure that holds a two-ton chain hoist located at the top of the crossing tower.
A full-size wooden mockup was created for testing purposes, and initial support structures and rigging were installed in March 2023. The botafumeiro was shipped from Spain and arrived on campus in February 2024 after nearly two years of work. In April, the college conducted extensive testing using the botafumeiro and all pieces worked as designed. A guild of students has been formed for the purpose of swinging the thurible, and a group of seniors was able to assist in the testing.
A group of senior men volunteered to help test the initial swinging of the botafumeiro in the chapel.
The botafumeiro will be used on special occasions, tied in with Vespers and other liturgical functions, though not during Mass. When swung, the piece will be used to offer to God a holy incense and bring to mind the words of Revelation 8:3-4: “And another angel came and stood before the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given to him much incense, that he might offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which is before the throne. And with the prayers of the saints, there went up before God from the angel’s hand the smoke of the incense.”
Written by Julie Wells.
Read more from Instaurare Magazine here.