Focus on Cristo de La Laguna and explain the History.
There are many theories on the origin of the figure of Christ. It was Professor Joaquin Yarza who assumed that its origins were northern European, although he did not deny its Sevillian origins. The latest studies conducted by Professor Francisco Galante Gomez confirm that the figure came from the flourishing workshops of Antwerp, thus making it of Flemish-Brabanzon origin, and it was sculpted by Louis Van Der Vule around 1514.
It is claimed that the image of the Christ went to Venice before coming to Tenerife, as the city was a major trading and economic centre at the time. From there, it was taken to Barcelona and from Barcelona to Cádiz, where it was given temporary accommodation in the church of La Vera Cruz in Sanlúcar de Barrameda. After finally come to Tenerife in 1520.
Over the centuries, the solemn worship of this image of Christ has made it one of the most venerated religious images in the entire archipelago. This image has been taken in rogatives through the streets of the city in multitude of occasions throughout the history, generally to ask for its intercession in diverse public calamities like epidemics, plagues or droughts that were produced in the island of Tenerife.
Before the image of the Christ of La Laguna received the episcopal consecration Monsignor Domingo Pérez Cáceres, September 21, 1947, that became the first bishop born in Tenerife that governed his own native diocese. The image of the Christ had been exceptionally transferred to the Cathedral of La Laguna for such occasion a few days before.The church of the Christ is currently classified as a Royal Sanctuary, and is highly popular with church goers. It was returned to the Franciscan community of the annex to the Convent of San Miguel de las Victorias. The church of the Christ in the course of history was enriched by the Popes pardons that are granted to the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome. The "Real Santuario del Santísimo Cristo de La Laguna" was listed as a Cultural Monument in 2005 by the Canary Islands Government.
The festival of the Christ of La Laguna is celebrated every September 14.
Domingo Pérez Cáceres Tenerife Sevillian Franciscan Antwerp Louis Van Der Vule Cádiz Barcelona Rome San Miguel Canary Islands Flemish Basilica of St. John Lateran Real Santuario del Santísimo Cristo de La Laguna Europe Sanlúcar de Barrameda Venice Pope Brabanzon