The Cave-Shrine of Santo Hermano Pedro, is a

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cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...

dedicated to Saint Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur (Canary first saint). It is located in the municipality of Granadilla de Abona, near

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on the south of the island of

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

(

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

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), at the end of the Tenerife South Airport runway.

Description of the cave

This cave is considered one of the most important pilgrimage spots of the Canary Islands, which annually attracts over 300.000 visitors. In this cave is where saint stood with his flock to rest to recover and walk again forces the way to his small village in the highlands of Vilaflor. In addition, the cave was also used by Peter as a place of prayer and even as a hiding place to protect himself from some

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attack, which were abundant on the coasts of the Canary Islands at that time. Currently inside the cave is a wooden statue of the saint, the cave has a section that is completely surrounded with votive offerings of the faithful. In addition, the cave has a relic of the Saint, specifically a part of a rib.

Protection

Since 1999, the cave it is listed as a Site of Cultural Interest by the Government of the

.BIC de la Cueva del Santo Hermano Pedro. Gobierno de Canarias.
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Camino del Hermano Pedro

In this cave ends the so-called ''"Camino del Hermano Pedro"'' ("Way of Hermano Pedro"), which is a pastoral route that the Saint traveled to move with his flock along the Chasna region. This route starts from Vilaflor to the Santo cave. Currently during the festival of the Saint in April, hundreds of pilgrims travel this route that has a great religious-historical interest.

References

{{reflist Churches in Tenerife Catholic Church in the Canary Islands Cave churches Tenerife Santo Hermano Pedro