The Império do Espírito Santo das Doze Ribeiras, is located in the parish of Doze Ribeiras, municipality of Angra do Heroísmo, located in Largo da Igreja of the aforementioned parish.
Although this brotherhood was founded in the 17th century, for many years it used various wooden treats, removable and only installed for annual celebrations. The current empire has its origins in the transformation of treatos into masonry buildings, with a very unique decorative architectural style that took place in the 19th century, having been inaugurated in 1891.
This property has already been moved twice, having been carefully dismantled and rebuilt without major changes. The first change took place in 1899, when the parish church was rebuilt following the Hurricane of 1893, having then moved from the left side of the mouth of the Church’s Canada to the left side of the parish church, a position it remained in until 1980. Severely affected by the earthquake of January 1, 1980, it was dismantled and rebuilt in its current position, on the right side of the square in front of the church, being reopened in 1989.
In the parish of Doze Ribeiras, on the eight Sundays after Easter, the cult of the Divine Holy Spirit is celebrated, with emphasis on the two Sundays of Bodo – Pentecost and Trindade.
On the Saturdays preceding the bodos, alms made up of meat, bread and wine are blessed in the church square by the parish priest, which are then distributed to the inhabitants of the parish.
On Sundays, processions to the parish church are held, accompanied by the parish philharmonic, followed by the solemn coronation mass.
After this liturgical act, the procession goes to the empire and the blessing of the bread and wine takes place, which, in the afternoon, will be distributed in the camp to the people present. In the square of the church, in the fair, you can see some of the old carts with awnings, as well as tables with “food and drinks”, sovada dough, drained beans, lupins, wine, juices, etc., so that those present, at the As they live together and experience the environment, they can savor the delicacies that are available to all.
The philharmonic enlivens the festival and auctions are usually made between performances. On the days of the bodos, the portfolios are drawn and the stewards of the wine are appointed for the following year, two for each bodo. The Commission of the Empire is appointed every three years and is made up of five members.
In the months of June or July, a rope bullfight is usually held in the parish, called “bullfighting of the bodos”.
Source: http://roteirodesazores.com/festa/imperio-do-espirito-santo-das-doze-ribeiras/