Iglesia Nuestra Señora De Los Dolores - La Laguna

The church is located between the former Monastery of San Agustín and Casa Salazar , seat of the Diocese of Tenerife. It is the first permanent hospital that the city had at the beginning of the 16th century , while the church dates from the 18th century.

During the bubonic plague epidemic that broke out in the city in 1582, Dolores Hospital saw its healthcare capacities exceeded and other hospitals had to be set up in different parts of the city.

At the end of the 18th century, the hospital and church were rebuilt and reorganized on new bases. The placement of the Blessed Sacrament in the new church was celebrated on May 25, 1704. There was a period of decline in the 19th century and since 1923 the temple service has been performed by the congregation of Saint Vincentius a Paulo.

The church has a single rectangular nave and a presbytery, both covered in wooden armor of a Mudejar character. The temple houses important artistic works of the 17th and 18th centuries , by authors of the stature Cristóbal Hernández de Quintana and Antonio Estévez. Striking is the main altarpiece made of gilded wood, where the statue of La Piedad stands, the sorrowful Virgin Mary with her deceased son in her arms after the descent from the cross. The Church of Sorrows possesses a valuable painting depicting the birth of Jesus , made in relief and in wood.

Currently, the complex houses the Adrián Alemán Municipal Library .

Willem Vandenameele