The Plaza del Ayuntamiento de La Orotava hosted this Sunday afternoon the long-awaited act of canonical coronation of María Auxiliadora, a recognition from the Diocese of Nivariense to the great devotion that this image has generated in La Orotava and other municipalities in the region since its arrival at the San Isidro Salesian school 74 years ago. The Bishop of Tenerife Bernardo Álvarez was in charge of imposing the second crown that a invocation of the Virgin Mary in the Villaafter the Virgen del Carmen, who received it in 1988.
Calvario and Carrera streets, in the town center, have been decked out this week with blue and pink colors, and slogans such as “Mother of Hope” or “Mary Help of Christians, pray for us.” Last Wednesday the 19th, the image went out in procession to be temporarily located in the Parish of Our Lady of the Conception. After her coronation, some 2,700 faithful accompanied Mary Help of Christians on her return to the temple that has welcomed her since her arrival in the Villa, at the Salesian school, which this year is also celebrating the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the order in the northern municipality.
The image of María Auxiliadora de La Orotava was made in the Christian art workshops of Olot, in Catalonia, and arrived in La Orotava on May 6, 1949, thanks to the initiative of Claudio Sánchez, the first director of the Salesian school San Isidro de the Villa and the Santos family. Since then, this image has become a religious reference for the municipality and, especially, for the community of this school, which currently has a thousand students and almost 70 teachers.
A Catholic liturgical rite
A canonical coronation is a Catholic liturgical rite that is used to highlight devotion to a Marian dedication and consists of the imposition of a royal crown that the image and her son, if he accompanies, will wear from then on. It requires a prior process to demonstrate that a specific image receives a worship and a sincere veneration by an outstanding community of faithful and for a long period of time. In this case, in January 2022, the Salesian community decided to start the process of requesting the bishop of the Diocese of Nivariense to grant the canonical coronation of María Auxiliadora, which was officially granted in September 2022.
