Dr. Almir C. Bruneti, Associate Professor,
Department of Spanish and Portuguese
May 1996
The Feast of the Holy Spirit, or Espírito Santo, is a devotion that has been popular in the Lusophone world (Europe, Asia, Africa, South and North America) for centuries. It is a communal type of celebration for which the whole population contributes money and foodstuffs. The main ceremony includes the coronation of a child as "Emperor and/or Empress of the Holy Spirit" who then presides over a banquet of which all partake.
In the olden days, before the banquet the emperor would go to the prisons and release all prisoners who had not committed any violent crimes. The origins of the celebrations seem to be connected with the ideas of Joachim of Flore (c. 1135-1202), a Calabrian monk who believed that the history of the world would end around 1260 with the beginning of the "Age of the Holy Spirit" when a spiritualized humanity would start to live in an era of peace and abundance. These ideas were disseminated throughout Europe by various heterodox thinkers who were at odds with the papacy.
Even though this devotion seems to have been present long before, its introduction into Portugal is credited to King Dinis (1261-1325) and the "Holy Queen," Elizabeth of Aragon (c. 1270-1336) who according to legend, devised and presided over the first coronation at Alenquer around 1282. The Feast was celebrated all over Portugal until the 16th century when, due to its heterodox origins it was practically extinguished in the continent. It was taken to the Azores and from there to Brazil, and more recently to North America (New England and California).
One theory ascribes the all-inclusive popularity of this devotion to the "New Christians," i.e., Jews who were forced to convert to Christianity and to whom it was easier to accept a spiritual godhead rather than the oppressive Christian God defined by the Council of Trent. Be that as it may, the Feast of the Holy Spirit is a "universal" celebration throughout the Portuguese-speaking world and it acts as a major vehicle for continued communication among those who share common language and cultural ties.
Nowadays the Feast is celebrated with the greatest brilliance in the Azores, some places in Portugal, many cities in Brazil, and among the many Azorean immigrant communities of New England and California. Some aspects of the Feast have been adapted to new times and new environments, but it maintains everywhere a distinctive "popular" flavor. The main focus is still a celebration of brotherhood and friendship with the coronation of a child as the Emperor/Empress of a new age humanity will live in peace and tranquility. The coronation takes place in the "Empire," a special "house" of the Holy Spirit outside the Catholic Church, a sure indication of its heterodox origins. In Brazil the devotion was so important historically that a state (Espirito Santo) was named after the Holy Spirit. It is perhaps not coincidental that the country chose to have an "emperor" rather than a king when it became independent from Portugal.
As in traditional iconography, the Holy Spirit is symbolized by a dove, sometimes depicted as having an eagle's beak. There is always food associated with the Feast, and most cycles culminate with a procession at the end of which bread, meat, wine, etc., are distributed among the poor who also participate in the communal banquet.
