Parishioners fulfilled the tradition on July 31 by attending Holy Mass in Mancha Blanca to thank the Virgen de Los Dolores for stopping the volcanoes. The parish priest of Tinajo, Víctor Domínguez, officiated the mass, which was accompanied by music from the municipality's choir.
Afterwards, the image of the Virgin went in procession around the sanctuary, accompanied by the clergy, the disciples of the Virgin and the parishioners, who bid her farewell with a round of applause.
In this way, the believers wanted to remember that July 31, 1824, when the people of Lanzarote once again felt fear when they saw that the island could once again be devastated by volcanic eruptions. At around 7:00 a.m. that day, the Capellanía del Clérico Duarte volcano erupted, between the towns of Tao and Tiagua.
The terrifying scenes that occurred between 1730 and 1736, when Timanfaya erupted, quickly came to the minds of the people of Lanzarote. This time the residents turned again to Nuestra Señora de Los Dolores, whom they asked for help. Thus, they carried the image along the Guigüan road towards La Vegueta.
Shepherds and farmers from Tinajo, Tajaste, Mancha Blanca, Tinguatón and La Vegueta joined this entourage. The religious procession reached the foothills of Tampia, along the path from Tiagua to Tao.
In front of the volcano, they placed the image of the Virgen de Los Dolores and asked that the eruptions stop. They even promised the Virgin that if she managed to stop the lava, they would commit to celebrating a mass every year to thank her.
