Catholic college’s grand ‘botafumeiro,’ inspired by Spain, honors Christ the King

FRONT ROYAL, Va. (OSV News) — It was the feast of Christ the King — Sunday, Nov. 24 — and excited yet hushed murmurs of expectation rippled through the worshippers assembled for vespers at Christendom College’s Christ the King Chapel in Front Royal.

The “botafumeiro” — a several-foot-tall, 180-pound, silver-plated brass leviathan resembling a conventional censer enlarged to massive proportions, with an eight-sided Gothic cathedral cupola perched atop its bowl — was about to swing in commemoration of the chapel’s namesake liturgical celebration.

Catholics are accustomed to watching a single priest employ an incense-emitting thurible on special sacramental occasions, circling the altar as clouds of fragrant incense rise to the heavens like the prayers they are meant to represent.

But Christendom College’s botafumeiro requires a team of eight men to sway it from a robust mechanism of ropes and pulleys housed high in the chapel’s crossing ceiling.

Outside of a visit to the metropolitan cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, Spain — where a “turibulum magnum” has been used since at least the Middle Ages to cense the mass of pilgrims that complete the famous Camino de Santiago pilgrimage there — such a spectacle is a rare sight indeed.

And Christendom’s botafumeiro is also ever-so slightly larger than its Spanish relative.

Unveiled to the public in mid-June during a summer consortium event, the botafumeiro was crafted during a two-year process enlisting the design leadership of Enzo Selvaggi at Heritage Liturgical in Southern California, while renowned silversmith Emilio León — based in Cordoba, Spain — executed it.

The college’s seal can be viewed on the pedestal base.

The botafumeiro arrived from Spain in February. During March, a full-size wooden replica was used for initial testing of a structural engineer-designed system including thick ropes, pulleys, rigging, cabling and a 2-ton chain hoist nestled in a steel A-frame structure.

Additional testing took place in April.

Even so, there is still more to be learned about the chapel’s intriguing new accessory.

“My adviser and I are going to do an analysis of the botafumeiro,” said Jane Twyford, a senior and math major, who was poised with video equipment at the head of the nave aisle.

“We’re going to figure out the velocity of this one; what angle — we have a ribbon up there — that it goes; and then, how many cycles it takes to get its maximum,” Twyford told OSV News.

During the Sunday vespers — which included an introduction, hymn, psalmody, Scripture reading, the Magnificat, intercessions, the collect and conclusion — anticipation built.

Then two staffers — ascending stepladders strategically placed on either side of the botafumeiro — loaded it with incense and then heaped on burning coals brought into the chapel through a side door.

As the schola sang the words of Psalm 141:2 — “Lord, let my prayer like incense rise” — from the choir loft, the botafumeiro began to move.

Slowly — somewhat leisurely — and at a respectable height and speed, at first.

But then — with each ensuing pull upon the ropes — the botafumeiro appeared to be swiftly flinging itself at the chapel rafters, trailing an immense cloud of incense in its wake.

A student guild does the actual swinging, with a focus not just on hefting the botafumeiro aloft, but also — explained senior Christopher Usher — growing in virtue and prayer.

“It’s a privilege to come out and do this today,” Usher told OSV News.

Usher said the experience of putting the botafumeiro in action is “indescribable.”

“You just put your whole body into it,” said Usher, who admitted the strength required is a workout that at times had him almost parallel to the floor as he pulled. “It’s just so edifying, serving the Lord this way.”

When at full swing, the thurible’s 180 pounds are tripled by gravitational forces, making it feel like 540 pounds.

“That was surreal,” added Jimmy Coffey, a junior. “Once they put the incense in, I was like, ‘It’s go time.’ That was a really neat experience to get to do with some of my best friends … especially in a beautiful, unique place like Christendom, especially in Christ the King Chapel.”

Both Usher and Coffey are players for Christendom’s conference champion Crusaders rugby team, another endeavor requiring a fair amount of physical strength.

The gathered worshippers also joined in a consecration of the college to both the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Since its April 2023 opening, Christ the King Chapel has steadily added additional adornments, including a Spanish-made Pietà, several side chapels and a Betrothal Shrine for weddings.

Mass is offered twice daily every day of the week, with tours offered Monday through Friday from 2:30-3:30 p.m.

When not in use, the botafumeiro resides in Christ the King Chapel, where it can be viewed on a daily basis.

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