The day began rainy in the Villa Mariana and the pilgrims, much fewer than in previous years, gathered from the first hour at the Basilica to attend the 08:00 mass and not miss the Feast of the Virgin of Candelaria.
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Due to the health crisis this year, the festival has also been adapted in the municipality, in a solemn act that was attended by the mayor of Candelaria, Mari Brito; the representation of the Cabildo Insular de Tenerife headed by its president, Pedro Martín; the Subdelegate of the Government, Jesús Javier Plata; María Candelaria González, General Director of Centers, Infrastructure and Educational Promotion of the Government of the Canary Islands; the mayor of Teror, Sergio Nuez; the Chief Lieutenant General of the Canary Islands Command, Alejandro Escámez, and other military authorities, as well as the Dean of the Accredited Consular Corps, Juan Carlos Díaz Lorenzo, and the Municipal Corporation.
For his part, the President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, did not attend the already traditional ceremony, instead, moved to La Palma to tour with the Regional Executive’s Employment Counselor, Elena Máñez; the Government delegate in the Canary Islands, Anselmo Pestana, and the mayor of El Paso, Sergio Rodríguez, the El Corazoncillo area, supervising the work carried out by a large machinery and human resources operation.
At 12:00, the Eucharist was presided over by the controversial bishop of Tenerife, Bernardo Álvarez, which was sung by the Orfeón La Paz de La Laguna. It should be remembered that the Prosecutor’s Office of the Provincial Court of Santa Cruz de Tenerife has initiated investigation proceedings to determine whether Álvarez committed a hate crime when he declared on the public television of the islands (RTVC) that homosexuality was a “mortal sin” and equated it to alcoholism.
In this meeting at the Basilica and through the media, Mari Brito, mayor of Candelaria, highlighted that this date has been relived in 2022 with great enthusiasm and respect, “we always try to take into account all the pilgrims who from The Canary Islands and from outside the archipelago feel very close to La Morenita, we hope that in one way or another they can share this February 2”, declared Brito.
After the mass, the image of the Virgin went out to the main door of the Basilica to receive all the faithful who attended the Plaza to profess their devotion.
It should be noted that, this Thursday, February 3, the Liturgical Festival of San Blas will be celebrated with the celebration of the Eucharist at 8:00 am and 6:00 pm.