The Cristo de La Laguna (''Christ of La Laguna'' in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

) is a

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figure of great historical,

artistic Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wh ...

and cultural image that represents the crucified Jesus of Nazareth. Situated in the Real Santuario del Santísimo Cristo de La Laguna (''Royal Sanctuary of the Christ''), in city of

San Cristóbal de La Laguna San Cristóbal de La Laguna (commonly known as La Laguna, ) is a city and municipality in the northern part of the island of Tenerife in the Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, on the Canary Islands, Spain. The city is the third-most populous ci ...

(

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,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

). It is the image that represents Jesus most revered and important of the Canary Islands, the image procession at

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

and September 14 to the Cathedral of La Laguna where he remained until a few days after returning to her shrine, which is visited daily. This work is one of the best ones that are part of the historical heritage of the Canary Islands. It is one of the Spanish religious sculptures of the highest artistic value. He is also considered one of the best European crucified in terms of artistic quality.

History

There are many theories on the origin of the figure of Christ. It was Professor Joaquin Yarza who assumed that its origins were northern

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

an, although he did not deny its Sevillian origins. The latest studies conducted by Professor Francisco Galante Gomez confirm that the figure came from the flourishing workshops of Antwerp, thus making it of

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

- Brabanzon origin, and it was sculpted by Louis Van Der Vule around 1514. It is claimed that the Santisimo Cristo went to

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before coming to Tenerife, as the city was a major trading and economic centre at the time. From there, it was taken to

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

and from Barcelona to

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, where it was given temporary accommodation in the church of La Vera Cruz in

Sanlúcar de Barrameda Sanlúcar de Barrameda (), or simply Sanlúcar, is a city in the northwest of Cádiz province, part of the autonomous community of Andalucía in southern Spain. Sanlúcar is located on the left bank at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River opposit ...

. After finally come to

in 1520. Over the centuries, the solemn worship of this image of Christ has made it one of the most venerated religious images in the entire archipelago. This image has been taken in rogatives through the streets of the city in multitude of occasions throughout the history, generally to ask for its intercession in diverse public calamities like epidemics, plagues or droughts that were produced in the island of Tenerife. Before the image of the Christ of La Laguna received the episcopal consecration Monsignor

Domingo Pérez Cáceres Domingo Pérez Cáceres (November 10, 1892, Güímar, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain) - August 1, 1961, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife) was a Spanish ecclesiastic, eighth Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Cristóbal de La Laguna ...

, September 21, 1947, that became the first bishop born in Tenerife that governed his own native diocese. The image of the Christ had been exceptionally transferred to the Cathedral of La Laguna for such occasion a few days before. The church of the christ is currently classified as a Royal Sanctuary, and is highly popular with church goers. It was returned to the

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

community of the annex to the Convent of San Miguel de las Victorias. The church of the christ in the course of history was enriched by the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

s pardons that are granted to the

Basilica of St. John Lateran The Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran ( it, Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e dei Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano), also known as the Papa ...

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. The "Real Santuario del Santísimo Cristo de La Laguna" was listed as a Cultural Monument in 2005 by the Canary Islands Government.

Legends about its origin

There are alternatives legends that attempt to explain the origin of this enigmatic sculpture. Some of these legends say that the image of Christ of La Laguna was sculpted by

angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles incl ...

and even by the Evangelist Saint Luke. ''Fray Luís de Quirós'' said the image of Christ of La Laguna was taken to the island of Tenerife by Saint Michael Archangel. In both cases these "holy sculptors" sculpted image with facial features that had Jesus Christ at the time of his crucifixion. Another legend tells that a stormy night the religious from the Convent of San Miguel de las Victorias (today Sanctuary of Christ) felt knocking the door, and when they opened it found a large box, the bright lights inside out. After opening the box found in the image of Christ, this fact was taken as a miracle.

Brotherhood of Cristo de La Laguna

From the image of Christ is responsible for a fraternity or sorority is the largest of the Canary Islands,Fiestas del Cristo de La Laguna 2006
call: ''Pontificia, Real y Venerable Esclavitud del Santísimo Cristo de La Laguna''. The Spanish King

Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alf ...

to this brotherhood Awarded the title of "Royal" on 19 December 1906, and

Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of ...

gave him the title of "Pontifical" on 15 February 1908.

Gallery

File:La Laguna BW 1.JPG, Exterior of the Shrine of Christ. File:Colección Cristo de La Laguna by elduendesuarez 26.JPG, The image of Christ on the altar. File:CristodeLaLaguna.JPG, Sculpture of Christ after restoration.

References

External links

Real, Pontificia y Venerable Esclavitud del Santísimo Cristo de La Laguna: Official Site of the Brotherhood of Cristo de La LagunaSanctuary del Cristo (La Laguna)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cristo De La Laguna Statues of Jesus Catholic Church in the Canary Islands San Cristóbal de La Laguna