pilgrim's office

It didn't really move Andy. It is still through the same door in Rua do Vilar but now there is a courtyard downstairs, a luggage holding room and an office up a flight of steps.

I tried to add two photographs but they won't attach.

Yes - no problem with packs or poles in June or last week.
The Botafumeiro swung on Thursday at pilgrims' mid-day mass and again at the 10am mass on Friday. That caught a few people off guard who thought it only swung at mid-day mass.

Well....the door up to the Pilgrim's Office is down another door from where it used to be--at least it was a week ago! But certainly right there so if you know where it was, you are 99% there already! The new courtyard is lovely.

Yes, packs and poles caused no comment. In fact tourists took lots of pictures of ours (we had just arrived in town) stacked up around one of the pillars. They did not particularly care to sit around us, however! The Botafumeiro did not swing for our Pilgrim's Mass or for the next day's, but it did at the 10:30am service the following day (Sat, Sept 24) and again that evening for Mass at 8 pm. We had just concluded our roof top tour and seeing it swing was a perfect ending to our last night in Santiago.

In 2010 I caught a "trifecta" for the botafumeiro -- 10 am, Noon, and 1800 masses all swung it. It just depends on having a group pay the fee. Officially, it swings for free just 12 times a year:

Esta es una tabla orientativa de los días que se puede ver el Botafumeiro en alguna de las misas en el Altar Mayor:

Epifanía del Señor 6 de Enero
Domingo de Pascua de Resurrección Semana Santa
Ascensión del Señor 40 días después de Pascua
Fiesta de la aparición del Apóstol
Pentecostés 50 días después de Pascua
Martirio del Apóstol Santiago 25 de Julio
Asunción de la Virgen María 15 de Agosto
Todos los Santos 1 de Noviembre
Cristo Rey 5º domingo antes de Navidad
Inmaculada Concepción 8 de diciembre
Natividad de Nuestro Señor 25 de Diciembre
Traslación de los restos del Apóstol 30 de Diciembre

Click to expand...

In fact the Botafumeiro is used during a number of other services throughout the year - for example recently at an evening Mass when there were visitors from the Orthodox Church.

The Botafumeiro is not only used at the 12 noon Pilgrims' Masses but at many other times in the year.

Generally there are two different uses for the Botafumeiro:

On major feasts such as Easter Day etc the Botfumeiro is used to incense the altar and the people with the same significance as when the priest uses a hand held incensor. At these times the Botafumeiro can be used at different times such as at the start of the Mass. This is what the Cathedral would term its liturgical use - i.e as an integral part of the Mass.

This liturgical use of the Botafumeiro is paid for by the regular congregation who attend the Cathedral and put their money in the offering basket. In the same way as their donation is used for the up keep of the cathedral etc.

There are times when pilgrim groups or tourist groups simply want to see the Botafumeiro in action - the cathedral would call this its tourist rather than liturgical use that is why it is used when the Mass has effectively ended - and if tourists want to see it they have to pay for the 8 men it takes to operate it. Currently the fee is 300€ I understand. Much less than 8 organists would charge for playing!

Regards

John