Santa María De Eunate (april 2017 Update)

[CJ Williams]

Good morning everyone:

I am starting a new thread here for updates about the re-opening of Santa María de Eunate. On Wednesday I will post information for everyone concerning the hours when the church will be open for visits and the changes that are coming. Subscribe to this thread if you want to be sure to receive the information.

But HOLD! There is another way for you to stay on top of news about what's going on, and I will be posting the information there as well:

1) We have an official Facebook page now. If you are one of the billions who has willingly handed your soul over to Planetary Overlord Zuckerberg, you can find us there by typing @santamariadeeunate into the search bar on Facebook, et voilà! Stalk us to your heart's content...

2) Alternatively, you can visit the church 's official web page at santamariadeeunate.es however, none of the information on the web page has been updated yet. I will publish the updates first on our Facebook page, then this thread here on the Forums. The web page will be undergoing updating all this week and the finished updates will likely not appear there until next week.

See you on Wednesday, folks.

 

[mspath]

Thanks for all your posting! It will be helpful for so many pilgrims to have available these correct new times and plans.

 

[notion900]

I visited in 2007 and this special place is still fresh in my memory. Thanks for all the work you are doing.

 

[Kanga]

Thank you @Navarricano - I've made this thread a "sticky".

 

[CJ Williams]

It's still Wednesday somewhere, if not here in Spain, so I'm still good. This post is going to be rather long, and for that I apologise, but there is a lot of news to cover here.

First, the schedule for the opening of Santa María de Eunate. Our schedule for 2017 is as follows:

• We will officially re-open the church this next Sunday, 9 April, at 10:30 a.m. for the start of Holy Week. The blessing of palms will take place in the church's atrium at 12:00 p.m., followed by Mass in the church.
• From 9 April (Palm Sunday) - 30 April: from 10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. each day.
• In May & June: Monday-Friday, 10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays, 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. & 4:30 - 6:30 p.m.
• In July &August: 10:30 a.m - 1:30 p.m. & 5:00 - 8:00 p.m., every day.
• In September & October: Monday-Friday, 10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays, 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. & 4:30 - 6:30 p.m.
• The church will close to general visits from 1 November - 31 March 2018. * Organized groups wishing to visit the church may do so at any time of the year, independently of the dates outlined above, by prior appointment. (More about this below.)

*The closing dates from 1 November are provisional at this time. We may keep the church open to the end of November, but that is dependent on a number of factors we cannot predict at this time.

There are a few other significant changes taking place at the church, beginning this year. I will list the most pertinent below, but first a brief explanation of the current situation of Santa María de Eunate.

The opening of the church and attention to pilgrims, visitors and tour groups has for many years been carried out by volunteers from the Cofradía de Santa María de Eunate (Confraternity of St. Mary of Eunate), whose generous donation of their personal time has made it possible for great numbers of people to visit the church and pray, or simply stop for a visit to admire what is one of the most singular churches in all of Spain and on the Camino. Eunate continues to be an active church, part of the parish of St. Stephen's of Muruzábal, and we regularly have Masses, First Communions, weddings, spiritual retreats and other parish activities there. However the demand for visits to the church is constantly increasing, and the parish is under pressure from numerous sectors -- the regional government's tourist board; tour operators and travel agencies; pilgrim's confraternities; cultural associations; universities and schools -- to maintain the broadest possible schedule of visiting hours in the morning and afternoon each day.

Now, bear in mind that Eunate is an 847 year-old structure that is in an increasingly delicate state. The costs of maintaining and preserving the church continue to mount, year after year. Neither the parish nor the diocese receives grants or funding of any kind from any government agency or official organism to assist us with the maintenance of the church, or even simply for paying the cost of employing attendants to greet and recive the visitors. Given that this situation is unlikely to change in the immediate future, and confronted as we are with a demand for access to the church that has increased exponentially, we find it necessary to introduce some changes this year.

For organised groups wishing to visit Eunate:

• In lieu of volunteers, we will be utilising the services of professional guides to conduct guided visits and explanations of the church's history and artisitic features. These guides will be provided by a local company with which the parish has reached an agreement to provide this service. Beginning this year, no guided visits or explanations of the church led by group leaders, guides or tour organizers not provided by the parish will be permitted, neither inside the church or the surrounding atrium, nor on any part of the property.
• all visits by organized groups, be they pilgrimage groups, cultural associations, travel agencies, schools, universities, parishes, or any other organisation, will be received by prior appointment. It is absolutely essential if you are bringing an organised group to visit Eunate that you request, via the links which will be available on the church's official web page from next Monday, the reservation of a date and time for your group's visit.
  
• The cost of this service will be made public on the web page in the next few days. We are in the proces of updating the page this week.

For individual visits:

• A ticket is required for access to the church as of 1 May 2017. Again, we will publish the cost of this service for the general public on the the web page in the next few days. The bit that I can tell you now, being that this is a pilgrim's forum, is that we have established a nominal entry price for pilgrims carrying a valid, correctly stamped credential. When I say nominal, I mean less than the cost of a cup of coffee in a bar on the Camino. 0.50€ for a pilgrim with a valid Pilgrim's Passport. This is not a "pay to pray" scheme, people; we are simply asking that you agree to help us out with a nominal donation that is far inferior to what you pay to enter other sites along the Camino. Of course, if you can do more and are willing to, then we will be extremely grateful for your generosity.

For pilgrimage groups requesting permission to offer Mass at the church:

• there is no fee for the reservation of the date and time that you wish to offer Mass in the church. We ask you to bear in mind our situation and be as generous as feel you can be with a free-will offering on behalf of your group to help us offset the costs of keeping the church open and attending to visitors.

That is the situation at present, folks. I am certain that there are those who will be upset by this solution, but it is the best we are able to manage with the resources we have at hand. The next few days are going to be very intense with activity preparing for Sunday, so I may not be here as much as I would like to respond to questions and comments, but I will check in to the thread as often as I can, and respond where I can. I'll also remind you to check my original post above for information about the church's official website and Facebook page, where you can stay on top of changes in schedules and news about the church. God bless everyone.

 

[CJ Williams]

Hello everyone,

Just a quick update on a small change in the schedule posted above: with the exception of EASTER MONDAY, 17 April, the church WILL NOT be open on Mondays, until July and August when Eunate will be open every day of the week.

I apologise for the change, and for the inconvenience and disappointment that this will undoubtedly cause for some, but it is unavoidable at this time.

I will keep you posted here and on our Facebook page if things change.

Cheers.

 

[Caminofácil]

Hello:

It seems that people have started noticing the changes, and some aren't too happy about it:

https://twitter.com/nosinmimochila/status/862997242227154944

Do you mind if I reply on Twitter pointing to this thread for the rationale behind the decision?

 

[CJ Williams]

Hello:

It seems that people have started noticing the changes, and some aren't too happy about it:

https://twitter.com/nosinmimochila/status/862997242227154944

Do you mind if I reply on Twitter pointing to this thread for the rationale behind the decision?

Sorry for the delay in responding, I have been away from my computer for a while.

I don't mind at all. In fact I would appreciate it, though I doubt that many on Twitter will be persuaded. Twitter is a toxic place, for the most part.

The transition, here in Navarra, has been very smooth, and while there have been some complaints, the vast majority of folks have been very supportive and more than willing to collaborate with the requested symbolic donation. There was also an article which appeared in one of the local newspapers this past Saturday, in which the reporter spoke to myself and the rest of the volunteers from the parish who help out at the church, in order to help people understand the reasons for the changes.

As I say, the vast majority are very supportive. The professional complainers and the self-entitled never will be, but... meh... too bad.

Thanks again for your offer to help get the word out.

 

[CJ Williams]

Just had a look at the link you provided. The person who wrote the letter to which the Twitter user No Sin Mi Mochila links has the reputation for being a bit of a professional complainer here in Pamplona/Navarra apparently, and spends a lot of time writing letters to the papers complaining about one thing or another. I don't know him personally, but that's what more than one person has said in the wake of his missive. In any event, what is absolutely true is that at no time did the letter-writer in question approach any of the volunteers at the church to ask for an explanation or to try and understand. He just got peeved and went home to vent his spleen with yet another letter of complaint.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

He just got peeved and went home to vent his spleen

A familiar activity on unrelated subjects in the Forum!!!

 

[Saint Mike II]

I was so disappointed to miss out on visiting this church again last May - I was walking from Pamplona/Uterga/Puente La Reina - it was a Sunday morning when I left Uterga and I really could not afford the time to wait until it opened on the Sunday morning. Oh well I will just have to add it to the places to visit when I return to Spain as a normal (non-pilgrim) tourist. Cheers

 

[Caminofácil]

Just had a look at the link you provided. The person who wrote the letter to which the Twitter user No Sin Mi Mochila links has the reputation for being a bit of a professional complainer here in Pamplona/Navarra apparently, and spends a lot of time writing letters to the papers complaining about one thing or another.

Aaah, yes, the professional letter-writer. I have known a couple of them in my time too . I wonder if they exist in other countries like the U.S.?

 

[Former member 49149]

Navarricano didn't come down in the last shower, with a keen sense of snoopery to identify the professional letter writer. I do hope the new arrangements will help to preserve the church: it is a gem.

 

[VNwalking]

Thanks for this update, @Navarricano ! I only found this thread now after posting on an older one.
I so appreciate what you're doing and hope people are appropriately generous! If people complain about a fee that helps pay for upkeep, that's their rotten karma: 0.50€ will hardly break the bank, and may there be plenty of people who willingly consider offering 50€!

 

[Robo]

I realise it's early days.........
But will the opening times for 2018 be similar?
Would love to visit during early May.

 

[Tia Valeria]

Hello everyone,

Just a quick update on a small change in the schedule posted above: with the exception of EASTER MONDAY, 17 April, the church WILL NOT be open on Mondays, until July and August when Eunate will be open every day of the week.

I apologise for the change, and for the inconvenience and disappointment that this will undoubtedly cause for some, but it is unavoidable at this time.

I will keep you posted here and on our Facebook page if things change.

Cheers.

Hoping that it is open this year again.
We too like @Robo would like to know the opening times for 2018. Also the entry fee as we will not be walking pilgrims this year.