Iglesia de la Concepcion - La Laguna

It was the first church founded in Tenerife , and therefore also in La Laguna.

It is the mother church from which all others on the island originated. Oral and written tradition shows that the first mass took place there, on the occasion of the celebration of Corpus Christi , with the clergy accompanying Adelantado Fernández de Lugo.

The oldest parish church had a different location than the current one, possibly between Adelantado Street and Marqués de Celada Street. In 1511 it was decided to build a new temple with three naves. The church is located in what was once the Villa de Arriba (where, among other things, the craft guilds lived). In the first 30 years of the 16th century , the works progressed very slowly and were concentrated at the head of the church. They were finished in 1558 , although extensions took place in subsequent centuries.

The construction of the tower was equally eventful. After separate constructions in 1577 and 1630, the latter dates from 1694 to 1697.

But poor construction quality , the passage of time and deficiencies in the building's maintenance led to a complete reconstruction in 1738 and even later in 1778, led by Diego Nicolás Eduardo. His intervention focuses on the main chapel and the head of the church.

After several construction changes, we currently see a large church with three naves separated by a semicircular arch on columns with cylindrical shafts in red tuff and capitals with varied decoration : Gothic baquetons, vegetation or masks. The main chapel was modified at the end of the 18th century, when the old one was replaced by a new room with a pointed arch.

The tower (28 meters high) is the emblematic element of the church. It is made of stone and has a square base. It looks like it has a church without a spire on it. At the base is the baptistery , covered by a pointed arch vault with Gothic inspiration.

Noteworthy is a small statue of the Virgin of Montserrat (patron saint of Catalonia), located beneath the altarpiece of Our Lady of Sorrows. Like other churches in the world, the Church of the Conception keeps several relics , including the Lignum Crucis, that is, the wood of Christ's cross . Also notable is the miraculous oil painting of Saint John the Evangelist, who miraculously "sweated" during an epidemic of the bubonic plague in 1648. As a result of this miracle, the Illustrious and Noble Slavery of Saint John the Evangelist was founded, of which headquarters are located in the Church of the Conception.

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated every December 8 , although commemorative celebrations begin days earlier. This festival highlights the "procession of the candles or torches" held around the Conceptionist Temple on the 7th. The next day (the Great Day) the solemn papal mass is held.

Between May 9 and 22, 2009, this temple hosted the statue of the Virgin of Candelaria (patron saint of the Canary Islands) during her two-week visit to this city.

The collapse of the roof in 1972 brought with it an unfortunate restoration, which involved eliminating the previous paving and patching some holes. Since 2000, several restorative interventions have allowed its preservation and improvement.

Today you can climb the tower to see much of the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna.

Willem Vandenameele