The Virgin of Candelaria or Our Lady of Candelaria (Virgen de Candelaria, Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria), popularly called La Morenita, celebrates an apparition of the Virgin Mary on the island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands (Spain). The center of worship is located in the city of Candelaria in Tenerife. She is depicted as a Black Madonna. Her main temple and Royal Basilica Marian Shrine of Our Lady of Candelaria (Basilica of Candelaria), is the main church dedicated to the Virgin Mary in the Canary Islands. She is the patron saint of the Canary Islands. Her feast is celebrated on February 2 (Candlemas) and August 15, this patronal feast on Canary Islands. It is recorded by Alonso de Espinosa in 1594 that a statue of the Virgin Mary, bearing a child in one hand and a green candle in the other (hence Candelaria), was discovered on the beach of Chimisay ( Güímar) by two Guanche goatherds in 1392. This occurred before the Castilian conquest of the island (the island was not fully conquered until 1496). One of the shepherds tried to throw a stone at the statue, but his arm became paralysed; the other tried to stab the statue with a knife but ended up stabbing himself. The statue was taken by the local Guanche mencey, Acaymo, to the cueva de Chinguaro. It was later recognised by Antón, a Guanche who had been enslaved and converted to Christianity by the Castilians, as the Virgin Mary when he returned to Tenerife. He told the mencey of his conversion and the statue was thus venerated by the Guanches, who translated the statue to the cave of Achbinico (also known as San Blas - Saint Blaise). However, the statue was stolen and taken away to Lanzarote. It was brought back after the statue caused various events to occur on Lanzarote, but later returned to Tenerife. The original image was a medieval gothic sculpture with dark colour and clothing that are similar to those of the Virgin of Lluch (patron saint of Mallorca) and the Virgin of Montserrat (patron saint of Catalonia). The first Mass was celebrated at Achbinico on February 2, 1497, and the Adelantado Alonso Fernández de Lugoo rdered the construction of a hermitage there, but it was not built until 1526, during the rule of Pedro Fernández de Lugo. This was the site of the Basilica of Our Lady of Candelaria. The basilica was destroyed by fire and rebuilt in the 19th century. The statue itself was lost when a tsunami carried it out to sea in 1826; the present statue is a copy by Fernando Estévez. The image of the Virgin is dressed in rich robes of different colorus and jewels. She was declared patroness of the Canary Islands in 1559, by Clement VIII (and principal patroness in 1867 by Pope Pius IX). The Virgin of Candelaria has been widely used for prayers, such as epidemics, plagues, droughts and volcanic eruptions of Mount Teide and other volcanoes, in a manner similar to the invocation of Saint Januarius of Naples to stop the eruptions of Vesuvius and of Saint Agatha of Cataniato eruptions of Mount Etna in Sicily. She is widely venerated in South America and the Caribbean, where she is the patroness of Oruro and La Paz (Bolivia), Medellín (Colombia) (which was founded as Villa de Nuestra Señora de La Candelaria de Medellín) and Mayagüez (Puerto Rico) (which was founded as Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Mayagüez). There is an image of her at San Antonio, Texas, center of an isleño community, as well. In the Cathedral of San Fernando of Texas (the oldest Catholic cathedral in the United States) is a replica of the Virgin of Candelaria, which is accurate to the venerated in the Canary Islands. This is because the city of San Antonio was founded by canaries. In the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth (Israel) place where the Gabriel announced to Virgin Mary her motherhood, is a mosaic of the Virgin of Candelaria, patron saint of the Canary Islands, along with those of other Marian devotions famous in Spain. The mosaic of the Virgin of Candelaria was opened by the same bishop of the Diocese of Tenerife. The Sanctuary includes Candelaria Basilica of the Virgin of Candelaria and the Holy Cave Achbinico (the latter was the first of its worship, along with Cave Chinguaro). The current basilica dates back of 1959 and it was constructed on a former hermitage. Since the image of the Virgin was appearing in beach of Chimisay, around 1392, the first great Sanctuary to the Virgin of Candelaria was the constructed one in 1668. Later with the increase of the peregrinations of the devout and due to the fire that destroyed the ancient basilica, there was a need to construct a bigger church (the current basilica), which has capacity for 5.000 persons.
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 13:59:36 +0000
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