Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Puerto de la Cruz)

Marian devotion of Puerto de la Cruz (Tenerife)

La devoción a Our Lady of Mount Carmel en Puerto de la Cruz (Tenerife) is documented from 1670, in a village that is clearly a sailor overturned to the sea. The Carmelite advocation is rooted in the general tradition of Monte Carmelo, cradle of the Carmelite charism, and in the love of the people of the sea to the Virgin as the star and guide of the sailors.

Main data

Origin and history

La devoción a Our Lady of Mount Carmel en Puerto de la Cruz (Tenerife) is documented from 1670, in a village that is clearly a sailor overturned to the sea. The Carmelite advocation is rooted in the general tradition of Monte Carmelo, cradle of the Carmelite charism, and in the love of the people of the sea to the Virgin as the star and guide of the sailors.

The image of Carmen is venerated in the The Matrix Church of Our Lady of the Peña of France, main temple of the town. Beyond the date of 1670 of the local sources, the specific details of the origin of the current image are not reflected in the documentation consulted.

The image and the sanctuary

The sanctuary where the image is venerated is the The Matrix Church of Our Lady of the Peña of Francein the hull of Puerto de la Cruz. The detailed description of the size of the Carmen (author, date, materials) is not recorded in the sources consulted.

Sponsorship and coronation

The sources consulted do not indicate that Our Lady of Mount Carmel of Puerto de la Cruz is the official patron saint of the municipality or of any specific guild, although devotion to her is deeply rooted in the town's maritime history. There is no record of a canonical coronation.

Party and devotion

The Virgin of Carmen is celebrated within the July parties, along with those of the Great Power of God. The most characteristic feature is the maritime procession: the image of Carmen, accompanied by San Telmo, leaves by boat by the port on Tuesday, 16 Julyin one of the best known and loved pictures of Puerto de la Cruz. The fishermen and neighbors accompany the Virgin by the sea she protects.

Link to the Rosary

The sources consulted do not mention a Rosary confraternity or a specific Rosary practice linked to this image. However, the devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, due to its Carmelite roots, carries with it a love for the scapular and the recitation of the Rosary: the Carmelites have always been great promoters of this prayer, and before Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the Rosary is the most natural Marian prayer, entrusting to her protection all those who go to sea.