We are home in our hotel room having spent a wonderful, rainy day in Santiago. We didn´t wake up until 11:30 after sleeping 12 hours! Guess the night of not sleeping because of traveling over here caught up with us! The sad part was missing meeting with Ivar of the Camino Travel Center at 11am. I was really looking forward to meeting with him over a cup of coffee. Because I thought I had lost my sunglasses (which it turns out I had not - I had just not looked for them in the right place) we received the blessing of going through these powerful doors and just getting to be with the Black Madonna. I realized that this was truly the reason that I wanted to come back to the Cathedral, to be with this particular statue, and to re-confirm the true intention for my walking the Celtic Camino, and to give thanks for her blessings and guidance along the way.
The other reason was to experience the swinging of the Botafumeiro at the end of the Mass in the Cathedral. Thinking that we had slept through this Mass, I had completely let it go, only to go back to the Cathedral later in the afternoon and realize a Mass was in session. Lots of school aged kids were there, and the songs were joyous and light hearted. When the priest mentioned the Botafumeiro, everyne got very excited and even clapped. Imagine a three foot silver cannister filled with lit incense that was held down from a massive ceiling by a ten inch in diameter rope. It takes half a dozen monks to pull the rope so that the heavy cannister starts to swing across the transcept ultimately from ceiling to ceiling. Sharon and I were standing under the spot where the Butafumeiro swept up from the crowd into the air. It was exhilarating and powerful to be standing just under it. I felt it sweep up my body as it lifted in to the air, cleansing me as it whooshed by my body. Just as powerful I felt it sweep down my body as it came back to the center of the church. Again, I felt so grateful that we just happened to go to the Church at this time and that we both got to experience the powerful swinging of the giant incense burner originally used to fumigate the sweaty and smelly pilgrims.
One last sharing before I finish here to shower and pack. Yesterday I had to pee very badly and public toilets are hard to find. Directed to go behind the Paza de Roxio, now a government building, I discovered a small church, Igrexa de San Frustucso. I am intrigued to find out more about this church as it felt very feminine and ¨hidden in plain sight¨. It was so close to the Cathedral, yet separated by the government building, yet right there facing the massive cathedral. So easily not noticed, yet so beautiful in its own right. A wide and round ¨tower in the middle of the church with a relatively new facade on the front. I am intrigued, and I realized tonight that this is where I want to begin our pilgrimage of the Celtic Camino tomorrow morning.
I will write again in the next few days.
Suseya!
Sarah
Hi Sarah, I Googled San Fructuoso for you and translated the page. Here is what came up:
ReplyDeleteSan Fructuoso and Deacons, and Eulogio Santos Omen. Fiesta: January 20
Among the most illustrios martyrs of Roman Spain Tarragona included the Bishop of San Fructuoso, and his Deacons and Eulogio Omen. Thanks to the Acts of his martyrdom, exceptional in its authenticity or written with a sublime simplicity, exquisite known details of the church organization and the Christian life of ancient Spain. Prudencio dedicated to these saints his best poems. Died in Tarragona, in the persecution of the emperors Valerian and Gallienus in year 259.