The Story Behind Christendom’s Botafumeiro

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.

To create a thurible worthy of its Santiago inspiration, the college turned to Heritage Liturgical at the suggestion of artist and alumna Mandy Hain. Led by Enzo Selvaggi, Heritage specializes in designing and crafting fine liturgical furnishings for churches nationwide. In addition to the Christendom botafumeiro, the firm also provided art direction for the Pietà sculpture and the bronze Christ the King statue in the chapel piazza.

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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 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.”

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