Church of the Conception

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Architecture · Subcategory: Religious architecture · Year: c. 1500

The temple dedicated to Our Lady of the Conception is the oldest in the city and one of its first constructions. It began to be built in the late 15th century, as it was already mentioned in 1500, having been an exceptional seat for a meeting of the old Tenerife Council.

It was established as a parish in 1533, the year it ceased to be an auxiliary church of the Conception of La Laguna, and its first dedication was under the name "Church of the Holy Cross", a name that lasted until 1636. Originally, it was a small single-nave church, which by around 1634 was in such a state of ruin that the parish priest, with the collaboration of the neighbours, began its reconstruction and expansion, adding a second nave, the Gospel side, and it was then that it took on the current dedication to Our Lady of the Conception.

In 1652 the building was razed by a fire caused by the sacristan's carelessness, when the lamp of the Blessed Sacrament set fire to a curtain, spreading the fire throughout the building. Reconstruction works were again started, which were completed in a short time considering the limited resources and the poverty of the area at that time. From this new reform, the church came to have three naves.

At the beginning of the 18th century, it was further expanded with two more naves, side chapels, an entrance atrium, and a magnificent double-angled balcony with a niche and marble figure, which can be seen on its portico. The Church of the Conception, with its five wide naves, is a unique example within Canarian religious architecture. 

On its north side stands a splendid bell tower begun in 1776, whose project is attributed to the military engineer Antonio Samper. Its porticoed base on three sides is notable. It was completed at the top by means of an octagonal drum, a design signed in 1789 by the architect Diego Nicolás Eduardo.  

The roofs of the naves, with Arabic tiles, are four-sided and have Mudejar coffered ceilings inside, resting on masonry walls and Tuscan order columns made of red quarry stone from the Salazar valley quarries in San Andrés. Of the coffered ceilings, the one in the presbytery and the polychrome ones in the two side naves are particularly noteworthy.

Inside, the Baroque altarpiece of the main chapel, from the 18th century, stands out, in whose central niche is the image of Our Lady of the Conception, a work by the sculptor from La Orotava, Fernando Estévez.

The octagonal ceiling of the presbytery is the most important of the Portuguese style in Tenerife.

The oldest Marian image on the island is also preserved in this church: the small Gothic-Renaissance sculpture of the Virgin of Consolation, possibly brought to the Canary Islands during the time of the Conquest.

The Baroque-style marble pulpit, dated 1736, is of Genoese origin. It was donated by the wealthy merchant Matías Rodríguez Carta, who also commissioned the magnificent chapel built for his burial. This chapel was completed in 1743 and is located in the passage from the Epistle nave to the sacristy. It features a magnificent altarpiece (one of the best works of Canarian Baroque) carved in cedar and barbusano woods, by the French artist residing in Santa Cruz, Guillermo Verraud, who is also attributed with the choir stalls, now placed in the main chapel, a place crowned by an original octagonal vault with a lantern that provides light.

Inside the temple is preserved what is said to be the wooden cross brought by the Adelantado Alonso Fernández de Lugo in 1494, which constitutes the symbol of the foundation of the city of Santa Cruz. This relic has been kept in a glass and nickel case since 1892.

Significant figures in the history of Santa Cruz have been buried in this church. Here rest the remains of Lieutenant General Antonio Benavides Bazán y Molina, an important Spanish military figure who died in 1762; those of Commander General Antonio Gutiérrez de Otero, victor over Horatio Nelson in 1797; and in the same chapel are those of the most illustrious Canarian pianist and composer: Teobaldo Power, who died in 1884.

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