THE DAILY WIRE · SPAIN · 2026-08-21
Faith, Fire, and Four Legs: Spain's Annual Saint Anthony Spectacle
Across Spain this week, horses leapt through open flames and pets filed into church pews, all in the name of one very busy patron saint. The annual rituals honoring St. Anthony combine centuries-old fire tradition with a more recent trend of blessing the household menagerie.
Per the original report, the fire-leaping ritual sees horses run and jump through bonfires in a practice with deep regional roots, while separately, pet owners bring animals — dogs, cats, and reportedly more exotic companions — into churches for blessings tied to the saint's day. Both traditions, the report notes, continue largely unchanged from years past.
For a four-legged perspective on this dual-track celebration, this reporter located Paco, a donkey working the outskirts of one such town, who was not selected to participate in either the fire or the pews and has feelings about it.
Paco's grievance, while personal, does raise a fair procedural question this column has not seen addressed in the human coverage: what exactly are the participation criteria. Sources close to the bonfire declined to comment on donkey eligibility.
Between the flames and the incense, Spain has once again proven that when it comes to honoring saints, the animal kingdom gets front-row seats — some of them, apparently, more front than others.
“Nobody invited me to jump through fire OR sit in a pew, and frankly both sound like bad ideas anyway. I've carried tourists up that hill in worse heat than any bonfire — least they could do is bless my hooves too.” — Paco, local donkey
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