Our Lady of the Conception

Marian devotion of Agaete (Gran Canaria)

Our Lady of the Conception es la titular de la parish matrix of Agaete (Gran Canaria). La parroquia se remonta al 16th centuryand the present temple is reconstructed in the siglos XIX y XX after previous damage.

Main data

Origin and history

Our Lady of the Conception es la titular de la parish matrix of Agaete (Gran Canaria). La parroquia se remonta al 16th centuryand the present temple is reconstructed in the siglos XIX y XX after previous damage.

The religious life of Agaete has historically been structured around the parish church of La Concepción, in the town center, which serves as the main church for the major liturgical celebrations of the year, and the Sanctuary of Las Nieves, in the port, towards which the town maintains a strong festive and maritime devotion. The author and exact date of the sculpture venerated today are not precisely known in the sources consulted, beyond its general attribution to the 19th or 20th centuries.

The image and the sanctuary

The temple is the Church of Our Lady of the Conception, parent parish located in the town of Agaete. The headline image is a representation of the Immaculate in classic style; the local bibliography points to several reforms and replacements of images throughout history, but the accessible documentation does not clearly detail the author or the date of the current size, so it does not record with precision.

Sponsorship and coronation

She is the patron saint of the town of Agaete, as the titular saint of the main parish. The title of patron saint of the municipality is usually attributed to Our Lady of the Snows, venerated at the Puerto de Las Nieves. A canonical coronation is not recorded in the sources consulted.

Party and devotion

The liturgical feast documented is the solemn Eucharist of 8 December, solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. There is no big popular holiday of people comparable to the snow. The local chronicles remember that, when the sea was very bravo and could not be held in the Port, some vocal celebrations were moved to the parish of the Conception, although without details dated; a concrete miracle linked to this image does not exist.

Link to the Rosary

In the parish of Agaete, the Rosary is prayed, as in any Catholic community, but there is no record of a historical Rosary confraternity linked to this devotion, nor a Rosary feast day specific to the Immaculate Conception. Even so, devotion to the Immaculate Conception and the recitation of the Rosary always go hand in hand: by contemplating the mysteries of Christ with Mary, the Rosary leads to honoring the Mother conceived without sin, making it the most fitting Marian prayer before this image.