Our Lady of Candelaria

Iglesia de La Candelaria de Caracas · devotion canaria (Venezuela)

In the heart of Caracas, the historic church of La Candelaria - the heart of the old Canarian colony of the city - is selling the remains of Blessed José Gregorio Hernández to Our Lady of the Candelaria.

Origin and history

The devotion to the Virgin of the Candelaria - patron of the Canary Islands - was introduced in Caracas with the canarian immigration of colonial times. The construction of a church of its own was approved in 1703 by Bishop Diego de Baños and Sotomayor, and the temple was erected in 1708; in 1750 the parish of La Candelaria was canonically erected. The temple was declared a National Monument in 1960.

La Candelaria has always been a religious reference for the canarian colony of Caracas, as an informal patron of that community, with its feast on February 2 and procession for the parish. Since 1975 the church has been home to the remains of the doctor of the poor, Blessed José Gregorio Hernández, which has greatly strengthened his character as a pilgrimage centre, uniting Marian devotion with veneration to the Venezuelan saint.

Formal canonical patronage and canonical coronation: not recorded in the sources.