La iglesia parroquial de San Pedro Apóstol - Vilaflor de Chasna

The parish church of San Pedro Apóstol, one of the oldest in the south of the island , has its origins in the modest chapel that Pedro Soler and his wife Juana de Padilla had built in 1530 .

This chapel was elevated to a parish church on the condition that the Soler family would expand it. For this reason, Pedro Soler's grandchildren demolished the small chapel and built the majestic church that we can see today, completing the work in the 17th century.

The church has a single nave and a Latin cross plan, with a Canarian-inspired ceiling in Mudejar style . The church has no tower, but is crowned with a beautiful bell tower.

Above the door on the side of the church hang two crossed keys and the papal tiara, referring to Saint Peter, the patron saint of the parish. On the other hand, above the main entrance there is an inscription indicating that the church was completed in 1675 , with Matías Ruíz Alfonso as beneficiary.

Inside the church, traces of the Soler family can be seen, such as the sun carved in stone in the keystone of the arch that separates the naves; the oval wooden shield that refers to this family and their prominent position in the society of that time.

On the other hand, the oldest and most valuable sculpture in this church, the alabaster Saint Peter , sculpted by Pedro Villar in the 16th century and donated by Pedro Soler to the primitive chapel of Vilaflor, with a sculpted sun on the base referring to the illustrious family who donated the statue. This statue is located in the left niche of the main altar, while in the right niche of this altarpiece is the statue of Holy Brother Pedro de Bethencourt, sculpted by Ezequiel de León in 1981. In the middle niche is a clothed statue of the Immaculate Conception , with crown and silver crescent, presiding over this altar since the 18th century.

On the upper part of the main altar there is a painted papal tiara and crossed keys that refer to Saint Peter the Apostle, the patron saint of this parish.
In addition to the main altar, the church has several altarpieces of great beauty and importance (some recently restored) that house beautiful images of virgins and saints of great beauty and devotion in the village. There is also an old altarpiece painted on one of the side walls. This type of altar in the form of a mural is rare on the islands and this altar in Vilaflor is one of the most interesting examples.

At the foot of the church is the baptistery, where an old baptismal font from the 16th century has been preserved, in which Holy Brother Pedro received the baptismal water and which is still in use today. In the baptistery there is a wooden staircase that leads to a high choir located above the main entrance to the temple.

Willem Vandenameele