Basilica Nuestra Señora de Candelaria
In 1390, Candelaria was a solitary place where Guanches herders—within the menceyato of Güímar—encountered a miracle: goats refused to come to the mouth of a ravine, and on a rock they found a statue of the Virgin of Candelaria, later named principal patron of the Canary Islands. The “black Madonna” was moved from the cave of Chinguaro, to the cave of Achbinico in Candelaria, and a chapel followed, turning the site into a lasting Marian focus—at one point also serving as a cemetery for Christian devotees. In 1596, King Philip II became protector of the Virgin of Candelaria, and the sanctuary received the royal title that still shapes its identity. Much later, the basilica dedicated to her was designed in a neoclassical style by José Enrique Marrero Regalado and dates to 1959, serving as the first Marian shrine of the Canary Islands, about 20 km south of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. …
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