The Iglesia-Parroquia Matriz de Nuestra Señora de La Concepción (''Church of the Immaculate Conception'') is a

Catholic church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

located in the city of

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife, commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz (), is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and capital of the Canary Islands. Santa Cruz has a population of 206,593 (2013) within its ad ...

(

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, :es:Canarias, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

). It is the only church in the Canary Islands that has five

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-typ ...

s. This church was built upon the first chapel erected by the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

conquistadors after landing on the coast where they would later build the city. This church is the main temple of the city, which is why it is called "the ''Cathedral of Santa Cruz''". However, it not is a

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

; the

Cathedral of La Laguna The Cathedral of San Cristóbal de La Laguna or ( in Spanish) is a Roman Catholic church in Tenerife, Spain. Begun in 1904 and completed in 1915, it is dedicated to the Virgin of Los Remedios (patron of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Cristóba ...

is the cathedral of Tenerife. In 1500 work began to build a church dedicated to the Holy Cross founded by Father Juan Guerra. It was one of the first churches built on the island of Tenerife. Specifically, the Church of the Conception of Santa Cruz was built near the place where the first

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

mass observed on the island of Tenerife after the founding of the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife was held. The Iglesia de la Concepción is dedicated to the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

. In this church is the image of St. James (patron saint of Santa Cruz de Tenerife). Inside the church is kept the

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a s ...

that gave rise to the founding of the city. Stresses the organ, brought from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and acquired in 1862. In this church is a relic of St. Clement I,

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

and

Martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

, donated by the

Patriarch of Antioch Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). As the traditional "overseer" (ἐπίσκοπος, ''episkopos'', from which the word ''bishop'' is derived) of the first gentile Christian c ...

, Mr. Sidotti. Historically this was highly revered relic in the city.Fiestas y creencias en Canarias en la Edad Moderna
/ref> In the temple there is a small

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

image of the fifteenth century of the

Our Lady of Consolation Our Lady of Consolation or ''Mary, Consoler of the Afflicted'' (Latin: ) is a Roman Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It dates back to the second century and is one of her earliest Marian titles of honor. The title ''Comforter of the ...

(historical patron saint of Santa Cruz de Tenerife), of historical merit, it was the same as the

Alonso Fernández de Lugo Alonso Fernández de Lugo (; died 1525) was a Spanish military man, 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 C ...

placed in the hermitage of that name. It was the first Virgin that venerated in Santa Cruz and one of the first devotions of Tenerife. The architectural style of the church is

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

and Tuscan. The bell tower is the most identifiable part of the church. The Church of the Conception has been declared a site of cultural interest.

Gallery

File:Nuestra Señora de la Concepción Santa Cruz.jpg, Interior of the church File:Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Concepción, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, España, 2012-12-15, DD 04.jpg, Exterior File:Concepcion Santa Cruz 01.jpg, High altar File:Concepción Santa Cruz 42.jpg, St. James, patron saint of Santa Cruz de Tenerife File:Concepción Santa Cruz 45.jpg, Holy Cross used during the Castilian conquest File:Concepcion Santa Cruz 09.jpg, Altar of the Souls of

Purgatory Purgatory (, borrowed into English via Anglo-Norman and Old French) is, according to the belief of some Christian denominations (mostly Catholic), an intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification. The process of purgatory ...

File:Virgen de la Consolación, patrona de Santa Cruz de Tenerife.jpg, Original image of the

, the historic patron saint of Santa Cruz de Tenerife

References

External links

Iglesia Matriz de la Concepción de Santa Cruz de TenerifeChurch of La Concepción in Santa Cruz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iglesia De La Concepcion (Santa Cruz De Tenerife) Catholic Church in the Canary Islands Buildings and structures in Santa Cruz de Tenerife Churches in Tenerife Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Gallery

See also

References

External links