The Church of Tenaún or Church of Our Lady of Patrocinio (Patronage)— es, Iglesia de Tenaún, Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Patrocinio— is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

located in the town of

Tenaún Tenaún is a Chilean village within the commune of Dalcahue, on Chiloé Island of Chiloé Archipelago. It is located about 36 kilometers from Dalcahue, 28 kilometers from Quemchi and 54 kilometers from Castro. The town of Tenaún is accessed from ...

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

Dalcahue Dalcahue is a port city and a commune in Chiloé Province, on Chiloé Island, Los Lagos Region, Chile. Demographics According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute, the Dalcachue commune spans an area of and had 10,693 inhabit ...

on the

Chiloé Archipelago The Chiloé Archipelago ( es, Archipiélago de Chiloé, , ) is a group of islands lying off the coast of Chile, in the Los Lagos Region. It is separated from mainland Chile by the Chacao Channel in the north, the Sea of Chiloé in the east and t ...

Los Lagos Region Los Lagos Region ( es, Región de Los Lagos , ''Region of the Lakes'') is one of Chile's 16 regions, which are first order administrative divisions, and comprises four provinces: Chiloé, Llanquihue, Osorno and Palena. The region contains ...

, southern

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. The Church of Tenaún was declared a

National Monument of Chile The National Monuments of Chile (Spanish: ''Monumentos Nacionales de Chile''), also abbreviated MN, are the constructions, elements and places that form part of the country's cultural heritage, and they are protected by law. They are National Heri ...

in 1999 and is one of the 16

Churches of Chiloé The Churches of Chiloé in Chile's Chiloé Archipelago are a unique architectural phenomenon in the Americas and one of the most prominent styles of Chilota architecture. Unlike classical Spanish colonial architecture, the churches of Chiloé are ...

that were declared

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

s on 30 November 2000. “Tenaún” means “three peaks” in the native language of the area, and it is believed that the church’s three pillars symbolize this. The

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of the Church of Tenaún is Our Lady of Patrocinio, whose feast day is celebrated on January 30. This church leads the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of Patrocinio San José, Tenaún, one of the 24 parishes that form the Diocese of Ancud.Diócesis de San Carlos de Ancud
Iglesia.cl. In Spanish. Retrieved 6 January 2013.

Architectural characteristics

The Church of Tenaún has a length of 42.40 meters and a width of 14 meters, the height of the central nave is 6.90 meters, while the height of the lateral nave is 4.30 meters. Its highest tower has a height of 26.10 meters. The church is based on a base of stones and coigüe wood. Its structure is composed mainly of wood of tepa, tenío and canelo. The interior lining is made of larch wood, while the outer covering is made of larch tiles and cypress overlap of the Guaitecas and larch. The roof is made of corrugated sheets of galvanized iron. The church of Tenaún has a good state of conservation. It was restored in 1999, between 2005 and 2006, the tower and the facade were restored; Between May 2010 and May 2011, the nave and the vault were restored.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Church of Tenaun Wooden churches in Chile Churches in Chiloé Archipelago World Heritage Sites in Chile Roman Catholic churches in Chile Colonial architecture in Chile

Architectural characteristics

See also

References