The Virgin of Candelaria or Our Lady of Candelaria ( or ''Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria'') (), popularly called ''La Morenita'', celebrates the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

on the island of

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

, one of the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

(Spain). The center of worship is located in the city of Candelaria in Tenerife. She is depicted as a

Black Madonna The term ''Black Madonna'' or ''Black Virgin'' tends to refer to statues or paintings in Western Christendom of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus, where both figures are depicted with dark skin. The Jungian scholar, San Begg publ ...

. The "Royal Basilica Marian Shrine of Our Lady of Candelaria" ( Basilica of Candelaria) is considered the main church dedicated to the Virgin Mary in the Canary Islands and she is the patroness saint of the

. Her feast is celebrated on February 2 ( Fiesta de la Candelaria) and August 15, the patronal feast of the Canary Islands. Her devotion is deeply rooted in other parts of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, and in countries such as

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

and others. Her patronage also extends to various cities and countries in America and other continents. This has made the Virgin of Candelaria the second most widespread Marian devotion on the American continent, after the

Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe (), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (), is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with four Marian apparitions to Juan Diego and one to his uncle, Juan Bernardino reported in December 1531, when t ...

, patron saint of Mexico.

Legend and appearance

According to a legend recorded by Alonso de Espinosa in 1594, 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 Guanche may refer to: *Guanches, the indigenous people of the Canary Islands *Guanche language, an extinct language, spoken by the Guanches until the 16th or 17th century *''Conus guanche ''Conus guanche'' is a species of sea snail, a marine ga ...

goatherds in 1392. This was before the Castilian conquest of the island of Tenerife (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'' to the cueva de Chinguaro. Later,

Antón Antón is a corregimiento in Antón District, Coclé Province, Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Ric ...

, a Guanche who had been enslaved and converted to Christianity by the Castilians, returned to Tenerife and recognized the statue as that of the Virgin Mary. He told the mencey of his conversion and the statue was thus venerated by the Guanches, who moved it to the cave of Achbinico (also known as San Blas – "

Saint Blaise Blaise of Sebaste (, ''Hágios Blásios''; martyred 316 AD) was a physician and bishop of Sivas, Sebastea in historical Lesser Armenia (modern Sivas, Turkey) who is venerated as a Christian saint and martyr. He is counted as one of the Fourteen ...

"). However, the statue was stolen and taken away to

Lanzarote Lanzarote (, , ) is a Spanish island, the easternmost of the Canary Islands, off the north coast of Africa and from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering , Lanzarote is the fourth-largest of the islands in the archipelago. With 163,230 inhabi ...

. It was later returned to Tenerife after various events, including an outbreak of the plague, occurred on Lanzarote. At first, the

autochthons There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

identified the statue with their goddess Chaxiraxi (the mother of the gods), but later the Christian conquerors imposed the idea that the statue was that of the

. After the appearance of the Virgin and its iconographic identification with this biblical event, the festival began to be celebrated with a Marian character in 1497, when the conqueror

Alonso Fernández de Lugo Alonso Fernández de Lugo (; died 1525) was a Spanish conquistador, city founder, and administrator. He conquered the islands of La Palma (1492–1493) and Tenerife (1494–1496) for the Castilian Crown; they were the last of the Canary Islan ...

, celebrated the first

Candlemas Candlemas, also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the Feast of the Holy Encounter, is a Christian holiday, Christian feast day commemorating the presentation of ...

festival dedicated especially to the Virgin Mary, coinciding with the Feast of Purification, on February 2.Historia de la Virgen de Candelaria, en página de turismo de Tenerife
/ref> Before the conquest of Tenerife, the Guanche aborigines celebrated a festivity around the image of the Virgin during the

Beñesmen The Beñesmen or Beñesmer was the most important festival of the ancient aborigines of the Canary Islands, mainly between the Guanches of the island of Tenerife. It was the feast of the harvest, it ordered Aboriginal affairs materials, and ce ...

festival in the month of August. This was the harvest party, which marked the beginning of the year. Currently, the feast of the Virgin of Candelaria in Canary Islands is celebrated in addition to February 2 also on August 15, the day of the

Assumption of the Virgin Mary The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it on 1 November 1950 in his apostolic constitution as follows: It leaves open the question of whether Mary died or whether she was ra ...

in the Catholic calendar. For some historians, the celebrations celebrated in honor of the Virgin during the month of August are a syncretized reminiscence of the ancient feasts of the Beñesmen. The original statue was a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

gothic sculpture with dark colour and clothing similar to that of the Virgin of Lluch (patron saint of

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

) and the

Virgin of Montserrat Our Lady of Montserrat or the Virgin of Montserrat () is a Marian title associated with a statue of the Madonna and Child venerated at the Santa Maria de Montserrat monastery on Montserrat mountain in Catalonia, Spain. She is the patroness sai ...

(patron saint of

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

Veneration

The first

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

was celebrated at Achbinico on February 2, 1497, and the ''

Adelantado ''Adelantado'' (, , ; meaning 'advanced') was a title held by some Spain, Spanish nobles in service of their respective kings during the Middle Ages. It was later used as a military title held by some Spanish ''conquistadores'' of the 15th, 16th a ...

ordered 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 A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...

carried it out to sea in 1826; the present statue is a copy by Fernando Estévez. The statue of the Virgin is dressed in rich robes of different colors and jewels. She was declared patroness of the Canary Islands in 1599, by Clement VIII (and principal patroness in 1867 by

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

). The Virgin of Candelaria is widely petitioned to pray for the protection against epidemics, plagues, droughts and volcanic eruptions of Mount Teide and other volcanoes, in a manner similar to the invocation of St. Januarius of

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

to pray for the end of the eruptions of

Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ) is a Somma volcano, somma–stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of several volcanoes forming the Campanian volcanic arc. Vesuv ...

and of St. Agatha of

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

against eruptions of

Mount Etna Mount Etna, or simply Etna ( or ; , or ; ; or ), is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania, between the cities of Messina, Italy, Messina and Catania. It is located above the Conve ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

. Between October 1964 and January 1965, the

Diocese of Tenerife In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

conducted the largest pilgrimage in the history of the Canary Islands. This time, the statue of the Virgin was walked across the towns, cities and municipalities of the island of

for the first time in history. In the

basilica of the Annunciation The Church of the Annunciation (, , ), sometimes also referred to as the Basilica of the Annunciation, is a Catholic Church, Catholic church in Nazareth, in northern Israel. It is one of two claimants to the site of the Annunciation – in whic ...

Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...

(

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

) is a mosaic of the Virgin of Candelaria, patron saint of the Canary Islands, along with those of other Marian devotions famous in Spain. Every year on February 2 and August 15 is celebrated a big party in honor of the Virgin. These days there are thousands of pilgrims and tourists coming to Candelaria from all points of the Canary Islands and other parts of Spain and the world. The feast day is marked by a solemn procession and a religious ceremony, although its most famous component is a re-enactment of the discovery of the statue, with locals dressing up as guanche natives. In addition to that, every seven years the image of the Virgin of Candelaria is transferred to

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife (; locally ), commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz, is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and one of the capitals of the Canary Islands, along with Las Palmas. Santa Cruz has a ...

(capital of the island) and

San Cristóbal de La Laguna San Cristóbal de La Laguna (commonly known as La Laguna, ) is a city and municipality in the northern part of the island of Tenerife in the Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, on the Canary Islands, Spain. The former capital of the Canary Islan ...

(seat of the

), alternating every seven years between the two cites: in 2002 it was Santa Cruz and in 2009 La Laguna and so to successively.

Strange letters on the original carving of the Virgin

In the carved drapery of the Virgin of Candelaria original there were strange sequences of letters whose meaning is still unknown. These were: *Band on the neck: ETIEPFSEPMERI *In the belt: NARMPRLMOTARE *On the left sleeve, by the candle: LPVRINENIPEPNEIFANT *In the mantle, in the right arm: OLM INRANFR IAEBNPFM RFVEN NVINAPIMLIFINVIPI NIPIAN *At the edge of the left hand: FVPMIRNA ENVPMTI EPNMPIR VRVIVINRN APVIMFRI PIVNIAN NTRHN *At the bottom of the robe: EAFM IRENINI FMEAREI *On the back of the cape: NBIMEI ANNEIPERFMIVIFVF There have been numerous theories proposed regarding possible meanings over the years, including that the evangelizing friars of the Canary Islands wrote devotions to the Virgin Mary in the context of the original (Insular-Amazigh)

Guanche language Guanche is an extinct language or dialect continuum that was spoken by the Guanches of the Canary Islands until the 16th or 17th century. It died out after the conquest of the Canary Islands as the Guanche ethnic group was assimilated into the d ...

, while attempting to transcribe them into Roman letters.

Shrines

Basilica of Candelaria and Cueva de Achbinico

The first great Sanctuary to the Virgin of Candelaria was constructed in 1668. After a fire destroyed the ancient basilica, a larger church (the current basilica) was built. The current basilica dates to 1959. It was constructed on a former hermitage, and can hold 5,000 people. The Cave of San Blas was the first Christian church of the Canaries. It was here that the early inhabitants of the Canary Isles first revered the Virgin of Candelaria. The cave is located behind Candelaria's Basilica and is a site of pilgrimage. Achbinico's cave has historical significance as it was here that many

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

s of guanches took place.

National Shrine of Our Lady of the Candles (Jaro Cathedral)

The Jaro Cathedral (National Shrine of Our Lady of the Candles) in

Jaro, Iloilo City Jaro (, ) is a district in Iloilo City, Philippines. It is the largest district in terms of both geographical area and population, with 130,700 people according to the 2020 census. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Jaro, whi ...

, Philippines, which is the mother church under the catholic Archdiocese of Jaro that oversees the provinces of Iloilo, Antique, Guimaras and Negros Occidental in Western Visayas region, is dedicated to the Virgin of Candelaria, the patroness of the Western Visayas region, Romblon, and Negros Occidental. The feast of Candelaria held every February 2 is one of the largest Roman Catholic feasts dedicated to Marian devotion in the Philippines. The Candelaria of Jaro's image was found in 1587, the year when the town of Jaro was established as a parish. Later, she was transferred to the newly built Jaro Cathedral during the Spanish colonial era in the Philippines around 1700s and 1800s. The cathedral where she is enshrined has been declared a National Shrine of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (the only Marian shrine in

Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Bisayan languages, Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; Filipino language, Filipino: ''Kabisayaan'' ), are one of the three Island groups of the Philippines, principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, a ...

and

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

). Her image perched atop the facade of Jaro Cathedral is the first and only marian image crowned personally without a papal legate by a pope and saint in the Philippines and Asia, by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

. The image of Our Lady of Candelaria of Jaro is considered as the oldest ''Virgin of Candelaria'' image in the country.

Diocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Candelaria (Silang, Cavite)

The Diocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Candelaria was founded in 1595 and dedicated in honor to Our Lady of Candelaria in 1640. Also commonly known as the Silang Church, it is a Roman Catholic parish in the municipality of Silang, Cavite, in the Philippines under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Imus. It is known for its Spanish colonial architectural style and the rococo influenced

retablo A retablo is a devotional painting, especially a small popular or folk art one using iconography derived from traditional Catholic church art. More generally ''retablo'' is also the Spanish term for a retable or reredos above an altar, whether ...

s. The Church with its retablos was declared as a National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines on 4 February 2011. The image of Our Lady of Candelaria of Silang is considered as the oldest image in the Province of Cavite and the second oldest ''Virgin of Candelaria'' image in the country.

Virgen de Candelaria Chapel (Tatala, Binangonan, Rizal)

This is the only chapel in Binangonan, Rizal, that venerates the image of Virgen de Candelaria. Its feast day is celebrated every February 2 with the blessing of the candles and a Solemn Mass. After the Mass, there is a traditional Pandanggo or Processional dance in honor to the Our Lady of Candelaria of Tatala.

In the Americas and Philippines

The cult of the Virgin of Candelaria swept America due to the emigration of Canarians. They brought the devotion as a symbol of their culture, somewhat similar to the diffusion of the cult of

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British culture, Romano-British Christian missionary and Archbishop of Armagh, bishop in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Irelan ...

by Irish emigrants. On the other hand, the Candelaria image brought to the Philippines has a white image with a child. She is widely venerated in South America and the Caribbean, where she is the patroness of Oruro and

La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...

(Bolivia),

Medellín Medellín ( ; or ), officially the Special District of Science, Technology and Innovation of Medellín (), is the List of cities in Colombia, second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia Departme ...

(Colombia) (which was founded as ''Villa de Nuestra Señora de La Candelaria de Medellín''), Mayagüez (Puerto Rico) (which was founded as ''Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Mayagüez''), and Manatí (Puerto Rico) (which was founded as ''Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria y San Matías''). In the Cathedral of San Fernando of

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

(the oldest Catholic cathedral in the United States) is a replica of the Virgin of Candelaria, which is a facsimile of that venerated in the Canary Islands. This is because the city of

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

was founded by Canarians. In the

, she is the patroness of

Western Visayas Western Visayas (; ; ) is an Regions of the Philippines, administrative region in the Philippines, numerically designated as Region VI. The region comprises the islands of Panay and Guimaras Island, Guimaras. It consists of five Provinces of the ...

and

Negros Occidental Negros Occidental (; ), officially the Province of Negros Occidental (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Negros, Negros Island. Its capital is the city of Bacolod, of which it is geographically s ...

, and a white version with a child is found in the Jaro Cathedral in

Iloilo City Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region of the Philippines, located on the southeastern coast of th ...

: it is either of local heavenly origin since its discovery was miraculous being found floating in a river, changing in weight and growing in size or it may be brought by the Spanish immigrants during Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines. Her feast is celebrated every February 2 with pageantry where the Fiesta queen is chosen from prominent Spanish-Filipino families in the district of Jaro. The image and statue is located atop the cathedral and is the only Marian statue crowned by pope and saint in the Philippines, during the visit of Pope John Paul II. The first church of Dilao (now the District of Paco in Manila) was initially dedicated to the Virgen de Candelaria, until its Parish was named to San Fernando. Until now, the Virgin is considered the secondary patroness and attributions are manifested throughout the post war church structure. She was the secondary Patroness of Municipality of

Candelaria, Quezon Candelaria, officially the Municipality of Candelaria (), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Quezon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 137,881 people. It ...

, hence why the locals celebrate their Candle Festival annually in honor of Our Lady during February 2. She is also the patroness of the

region and Tatala, one of the

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

s in Binangonan, Rizal (also in the Philippines), which celebrates her feast day every February 2. The Municipality of Silang in the province of

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite (; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region. On the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest of Manila, i ...

, Philippines, also celebrates her feast day from February 1 to 3, with February 2 being the main feast day. In El Salvador in the department of Sonsonate, "La Virgen de Candelaria" is the patroness too.

Syncretism

The Virgin of Candelaria is identified or syncretized with other holy entities from other religions: *In

mythology, the Virgin of Candelaria was identified as Chaxiraxi, and her son Chijoraji. *In

Santería Santería (), also known as Regla de Ocha, Regla Lucumí, or Lucumí, is an African diaspora religions, Afro-Caribbean religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th century. It arose amid a process of syncretism between the traditional ...

, the Virgin of Candelaria is identified with Oyá as well as Oba. *In Brazilian

Candomblé Candomblé () is an African diaspora religions, African diasporic religion that developed in Brazil during the 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between several of the traditional religions of West and Central Africa, especi ...

, the Virgin of Candelaria is identified with Oshun. *For

Andean The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long and wide (widest between 18°S ...

religions, this dedication is linked to the cult to the

Pachamama Pachamama is a goddess revered by the Indigenous peoples of the Andes. In Inca mythology she is an " Earth Mother" type goddess, Dransart, Penny. (1992) "Pachamama: The Inka Earth Mother of the Long Sweeping Garment." ''Dress and Gender: Makin ...

(Mother Earth).

Gallery

Image:Tenerife.candelaria.exterior.basilica.jpg, Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, Tenerife Image:Virgendecandelariacamarin01.jpg, Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, Virgen de la Candelaria, Tenerife Image:Candelaria BW 3.JPG, Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, Tenerife Image:Candelaria BW 4.JPG, Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, Tenerife Image:Añaterve cropped.jpg, Statue of the Guanche mencey Añaterve. Candelaria, Tenerife Image:Jaro Cathedral (National Shrine of Our Lady of Candles).jpg, The Jaro Cathedral (National Shrine of Our Lady of Candles) in Jaro, Iloilo City, Philippines Image:Nuestra.jpg, Diocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Candelaria in Silang, Cavite, Philippines

References

External links

Official Website of the Basilica of Candelaria

The Black Madonna: Virgin of Candelaria
{{DEFAULTSORT:Virgin Of Candelaria C C Catholic Church in the Canary Islands C Mayagüez, Puerto Rico