Dear neighbors and friends. Allow me to not give you a traditional proclamation and instead proclaim these festivities by making a brief biographical sketch of the different priests who have passed through our parish. I will try to make known, a little better, the religious, social and cultural contribution that they made throughout the history of this parish. Due to the weight of the Catholic Church in the history of this country, these people have played a relevant role in the evolution of this town and these festivities of La Candelaria that we are about to begin today.
As you all know, at the end of the 18th century, in Lanzarote there was only the parish of Teguise and the auxiliary parishes of Haría and Yaiza, so the requests for new parishes were constant and were justified "by the distance to take newborns to be baptized, the dead to be buried, having to travel many leagues away?" Therefore, Bishop Tavira commissioned, within the Beneficial Plan for the island, the creation of four new auxiliary parishes: Tinajo, San Bartolomé, Tías and Arrecife.
To fix the boundaries of the new auxiliary parishes of the Canary Islands, the Bishopric commissioned a former soldier, a widower who became a priest in his old age, brother of Clavijo and Fajardo and a good connoisseur of the land. The parish boundaries would later serve to mark the administrative division of the municipalities. Tías is one of them, the parish was created in July 1796, and in the definition of its boundaries it is said: "?The district of the Auxiliary Parish of Tías will be taking the first point of Montaña del Sobaco on the same side of the East to give to Montaña Blanca, also along its slope that faces the same East, from there it will depart to Montaña Bermeja, to Lomo de Tías which is opposite the cistern of the Kings and from there to Montaña de Guacimeta straight to the sea, with which the Parish of Tías is delimited from Yaiza by the West and with San Bartolomé by the East and by the North it is also delimited taking the same mountain of Sobaco to give to the top of Pico de Testeina and from there to the first boundary of Yaiza and it would include in addition to the said place of Tías the payments of Conil, Masdache, Mácher, La Asomada and Tegoyo".
OF THE PRIESTS:
Through the parish of Tías, in its almost 215 years of existence, 23 parish priests have passed, one was born in Tías and was parish priest of La Candelaria; three were born in Tías but were not "native priests", and 9 of the 23 obtained their first destination in this parish.
1.- JOSEP PLACIDO Y PARRILLA (1796-97) appears as the first parish priest of the auxiliary parish of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Tías, on July 18, 1796. This priest was born in Tinajo on October 5, 1763 and was ordained a priest on September 26, 1790, after his time in Tías, a little over a year, he joined the parish of San Roque in Tinajo.
From Bishop Verdugo's notes we know that the priest's salary for this type of parish was 350 pesos.
2.-The second priest to arrive at the parish will be CAYETANO CABRERA (1797-1813). He was ordained by Bishop Cervera and remained in Tías for almost thirteen years. He saw in the new century and celebrated the first wedding and wrote in the marriage book: "...marries Pedro de Guadalupe with Maria Nieves...of unknown father?" It was March 11, 1800."
At that time, there are three clerics who act, eventually, in some acts
of the parish of La Candelaria:
-Ginés Parrilla Lemes, born in Mozaga, belongs to the parish of Teguise and resides and says mass in Mozaga.
-Miguel de Armas y Silva, presbyter, born in Tías on October 29, 1775, was ordained by Bishop Verdugo, between 1800 and 1811.
He appears collaborating in Tías and from this date he does so in Teguise.
-Pablo Déniz Silva was born in Tías on August 9, 1779 and was ordained by Bishop Verdugo in 1804 and was attached to Tías until his death in 1863, at the age of 86. At one time he was chaplain of Nuestra Señora de Dolores.
3.-The third priest to arrive at the parish is JACINTO FIGUERAS (1813-26). The records noted by those dates in the sacramental books are made with poor quality ink.
4.-ANTONIO FAJARDO SILVA (1826-68) will be the first parish priest born in Tías (February 26, 1784) and ordained in 1811. This "native priest", according to the entries that appear in the sacramental books, must have been the one who stayed the longest in the parish, about 42 years.
Several are the events that will take place during the stay of this parish priest: Bishop Codina visits the parish coinciding with the festivities of La Candelaria in 1856. It is read in the archives that "?the bishop slept in the priest's house and the next day he delivered the sermon of La Candelaria and says that the faithful did not fit in the church?"
In 1863 he received Bishop Joaquín Lluch. On a visit to the parish, he confirmed 146 males and 157 females. He orders the parish priest to "...eradicate work on holidays and that the church not being sufficient to accommodate the faithful on precept days and, being at one end of the town, carry out the necessary steps to build a new temple in the same place where the work began years ago?"
In the time of this priest, the wealthy Sicilian navigator Mariano Stinga arrived on the island, who married in second marriage the young Andrea Rodríguez, daughter of the mayor of Haría, and settled in the hacienda of Tegoyo, ordering the construction of the hermitage for an amount of 20,000 reales de vellón and had the baptismal font brought from the city of Genoa in Italy. On July 24, 1863, the hermitage of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was blessed. According to the writings: "? People came from all over the island, the elderly parish priest of Tías Antonio Fajardo said the nine o'clock mass? the priest of Tinajo D. Juan Guerra Herrera, the Beneficiary priest of Haria, D. Juan Maria González Pasado, and the priest of Femés archpriest of the island were present. The harmonium of the Parish was brought for the occasion, which was played by the priest of Tinajo?"
In this same year, a license is granted to say mass in the hermitage of Mácher, owned by the Rodríguez family, due to the number of faithful existing under the devotion of the Virgen de los Dolores.
5.-In the time of the fifth parish priest FORTUNATO PEREYRA Y CAMACHO (1868-94-98), years of extreme poverty and hunger began, strong waves of emigration to America. Even the mayor leaves. This priest receives a pastoral visit from the Bishop D. Jose Mª Orquinaona y Bidot. On the eve and day of Candelaria, in 1871, it is said that the pastoral visit begins on the first day in Teguise and that "?we passed through Tao, Mozaga, crossed San Bartolomé and arrived in Tías in the afternoon and prayed the holy rosary at night in the church. The next day was the religious function of the day of La Candelaria, accompanied by the Parish Priest of Teguise and the Port preaching?then we participated in the procession with the sacred image. On the 3rd, the temple and the cemetery were visited and the parish books were examined and he says that he visited the hermitages of Tegoyo and Mácher".
On Sunday the 5th he gave communion to the faithful and recorded in the minutes book regarding: "?that all the faithful go to mass?" Seen the entries in the baptismal book, where not a few are natural children, from which it can be deduced that they are the fruit of illicit relationships?"he asks the Parish Priest to repair these unfortunate circumstances and to encourage having children within marriage?" It is requested that an inventory be made of the parishioners who live in this state. It is insisted that the children go to school and that the three wedding witnesses know the contracting parties.
During Fortunato's stay, the church of La Candelaria suffered a terrible fire caused by a poorly extinguished candle in the novenas of May. The Bishop issued a circular in September 1874 to restore the damage caused by the fire and it was sent to the residents of the Canary Islands in Montevideo.
On July 5, 1884, D. Fortunato celebrated the wedding of Pedro Quintana, Lieutenant Colonel Commander of the Battalion of the island, Knight of Isabel La Católica and Plaque of San Hermenegildo. A native of the city of La Laguna and resident in Arrecife, 45 years old, he married Eloisa Díaz, a 17-year-old single woman, daughter of Antonio Díaz and Juana Rocha. He is assisted by the military chaplain priest D Leandro de Lara?
6.-During the illness and death of D. Fortunato, the priest of Yaiza Carlos Cabrera, the priest of San Marcial Manuel Pérez Cabrera and the priest economo Manuel Suárez Vega temporarily took care of the parish.
Bishop Cueto (Father Cueto) appointed FRANCISCO DE LA FE BENITEZ (1898-1902), a native of the town of Moya, in Gran Canaria, as parish priest of La Candelaria in Tías. This priest saw in the 20th century. He celebrated the first wedding of the century marrying Manuel Pedro de Santa Ana Díaz, 23, son of Pedro Díaz and María Coello, to María Dolores Mota.
7.-The next parish priest to arrive at La Candelaria, SINFORIANO SUÁREZ SUÁREZ (1902-1918), comes from the same municipality as the previous one, Moya (Fontanales). In his time, the hermitage of San Antonio was enabled for religious worship and, in this small decorated church, on April 14, 1910, he received Bishop Adolfo Pérez Muñoz, who proceeded to administer the sacrament of confirmation and communion to the parishioners. In that same year he married Fernando Pereyra Galviatti to Maria del Carmen Stinga Parrilla.
The priest of Tinajo, Tomás Rodríguez, celebrated a funeral in the oratory of Mácher without the required permission of D. Sinforiano, and a dispute arose that was elevated to the Bishop.
In the year that World War I began, there were 21 weddings in the parish of Tías.
8.- The eighth priest to arrive in Tías is MANUEL SÁNCHEZ TREJO (1918-1941). He was born in La Lechuza de San Mateo. He arrived in 1918 and would remain for about 23 years in the parish of La Candelaria. D. Manuel, above all, is a great calligrapher. All his records are of high quality, beauty and neatness, together with perfect spelling and expression. For a time he combined parochial work with teaching.
From 1921 onwards, the records of each wedding are more extensive in detail and weddings begin to be performed outside the main parish, thus, records made in the hermitage of Mácher and in that of San Antonio appear.
D. Manuel had to live through the Spanish Civil War. For this reason, in his homilies he conveyed to his parishioners the dramatic events of the war that he was learning about through a rudimentary radio. Sometimes the faithful would leave crying upon learning the fate of the youths who were enlisted in the war.
The parish of Tías had spread from Tías to all its payments, where authorization had been requested to celebrate alternating masses in all the towns, except in La Tiñosa, where the situation of poverty and calamity was notable.
The priest addresses the Bishop on several occasions. In 1919 he requested permission to celebrate the day "?of San Juan Bautista with a sung mass in the payment of La Tiñosa, due to the distance to the parish and the poor condition of the road?"
D. Manuel sends another desperate letter to the Bishop in which he writes: "?. the residents of La Tiñosa, alienated from God by their ignorance of religion, live given to vices of alcohol and carnal, live and die without sacraments, without being able to comply with the provisions of the Hispalense Council because they lack a church or appropriate place?"
Later he addresses the Bishop again and informs him that: "?the priest buys a warehouse for the church?". He describes it as follows: "located in the center of the village, very close to the Varadero on the beach only interposed by a block of houses with an independent street and isolated from recent construction, planed tongue and groove ceiling of 38 beams, door to the south to the east leads to a plot of 17 m length north to south by 6.5 m and a cistern?". He adds that: "?the exponent wishes to attend to the spiritual well-being of those poor and unhappy (100 souls) committing himself to raise awareness among the administrations?", therefore "...he commits himself to reform before its blessing the frontispiece, bell tower and holy water font? the undersigned priest with the help of God and his own money?"
In January 1924 he sent a letter to the bishop requesting that the national teacher D. Gabriel Encinas Castellano be dismissed. D. Manuel, a heavy smoker, died suddenly at the age of 56, in 1941, having served as parish priest for almost 23 years in this town. It so happens that D. Manuel left the document of ownership of the church of La Tiñosa hidden in the corporals of the church, sewn into cloth. In the time of D. José Quintero, chance caused it to be unsewn and from inside it revealed the documentation and his letter offering this temple to the Lord for his sins.
9.- Upon the death of D. Manuel, the priest economo Antonio González Arencibia, a native of Teror, temporarily took care of the parish until D. JOSÉ PÉREZ MENDOZA (1941-44) was appointed parish priest of Tías.
This priest, a native of Valleseco, before beginning his masses would go through the town or payment mounted on his donkey and blow a whistle calling his faithful and in the church he would ring the bells before beginning mass.
He was a promoter of the Catholic Action movement.
In 1942 he celebrated his first wedding. On April 10 at 8 p.m. in La Candelaria, "he married Julia Díaz Bermúdez, 21, a resident of this town, to José García Mangas, a 28-year-old soldier from Salamanca."
10.-The tenth parish priest of the parish of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria is TEODORO RODRÍGUEZ RGUEZ, (1944-1950). Born in Juncalillo de Gáldar, a town that has given the church many very significant clerics and religious, he studied at the seminary of Las Palmas, where his other two priest brothers José and Francisco also studied. Before being ordained a priest, the bishop sent him to the Pontifical University of Comillas in Santander, where he remained for two years, obtained a degree in Theology and studied philosophy and canon law. He returned to Gran Canaria and was ordained a priest in September 1944 in the Basilica of Teror.
D. Teodoro, at the end of '44, in the middle of World War II, was assigned his first parish in Tías, where he would remain until 1950. He had to live through the late forties in Tías, marked by scarce rainfall, poor harvests, times of hunger, misery, emigration; the years '47, '48 and '49 were bad years, hence his first dedication was to help the many families in need. In '48 he actively participated in the Popular Missions promoted by Father Claret.
The oldest people in the place describe Teodoro as a young, tall, handsome priest, well-perfumed, with a high education and a fluent and convincing oratory.
The churches were filled with faithful to hear the new priest and religious fervor attended the churches of the payments when the priest arrived mounted on his donkey and at the sound of a whistle invited them to participate in the holy sacrament. He promoted visits to the poor, religion classes, catechesis in the old schools and his classes imposed, even over the teachers of the time. He created the quinariums, the novenaries, triduums, missions, etc. He established the Catholic Action movement, generated a cultural movement through the theater with the representation of plays in the church itself, schools and other halls, the fruit of that seed, perhaps, has lasted the high interest in this genre among the good fans of this art that there are in the municipality. The most obvious example is Mrs. Lila García.
11.- BLAS SOSA GARCÍA, (1950-1953). He arrived at the parish accompanied by his sister. He was a very kind priest of short stature, he read the homilies with great intonation as well as his chants. He stayed a short time in the parish. It was his first destination. He was a native of Guía.
The first baptisms registered by D. Blas upon his arrival in 1950 were the children Manuel Hernández Bonilla, Juan Parrilla Medina and others.
12.-Bishop Antonio Pildain y Zapiain proposed to go to the parish of La Candelaria in Tías to the newly ordained priest D. OLEGARIO PEÑA VEGA (1953-55), who was a native of Tenteniguada, Valsequillo. The bishop gave him instructions to buy three cots, three blankets, three quilts and half a box of crockery at the expense of the bishopric and he embarked on the "mailboat" La Palma together with his father (widower) and a younger sister of 14 years.
From Muelle Chico he moved to the town of Tías in the truck of Mayor Rafael Cedrés, settling in the house of the Barranco de Las Truchas, putting himself at the service of the parish. The neighbor José Fernández gave him a goat and others in the area some chickens and others plowed a small orchard that the house has. This priest did not have a means of transport and Manolo Sánchez frequently lent him his bicycle. It seems that Sánchez's canteen, which was also a barbershop and meeting point, made it easier for the priest to learn to play the timple, which his father reproached him for spending a lot of time in the canteen. Soon D. Olegario acquired a British-made "BSA" motorcycle in Las Palmas, worth 18,500 pesetas, being the first priest to motorize. For this reason, the bishop saw in him many possibilities to offer him a parish of great extension and sent him to the municipality of Tuineje in Fuerteventura.
13.- The thirteenth priest to arrive at the parish will be JOSE QUINTERO BOJART, (1955-1968). He was born in Telde, in Gran Canaria. The parish of Tías will be his first destination, he arrived on the island accompanied by his father who was a widower and settled in the old parish house "Casa del Cura". He always lived in poverty, his cassock mended and dusty. He was always on the side of the poor and the helpless. He lived like a saint, he walked, he prayed, he prayed? These were very hard years for a town eminently agrarian and dependent on harvests, on the years of rain or drought. The oldest people in the place affirm that he was a priest who went through many hardships and preached by example.
On foot, by motorcycle, or in the dilapidated black car, in heat, rain or wind, he always arrived at the appointment, even if he had to push the vehicle. Cassock, black hat, serene and tenacious, he spent long hours in the confessional and praying for the sins of all.
The first Fridays of the month, the circuit of masses through all the payments, the visits to the schools, the catechesis in all the neighborhoods, absolute recollection during Holy Week, the dawn masses, resurrection masses, the spiritual exercises and the Christianity courses.
He insisted on building a new church, below, next to the main road, in the center of the town. To do this, he convinced the parishioner of La Asomada José Calero Mesa to donate the best land he had in the town of Tías. Once the effort to build the new temple was achieved, on October 25, 1959, the first stone of the current church was blessed.
Just a year earlier, in October 1958, in a solemn ceremony, the newly ordained priest Manuel Hernández Morales, a priest born in the ravines of Mácher, said his first mass. The event was attended by all the parish priests of Lanzarote, authorities, neighbors and family members with a temple decorated to the height of the circumstances.
In his time, the new morality rules dictated by Bishop Pildain caused tensions in society and sometimes splashed the authorities due to disputes between pagan and religious festivals. In 1965 he had to activate Father Peyton's "Great Crusade of the Rosary in the Family", under the motto: "the family that prays together stays together". D. José promoted the creation of an itinerant parish cinema and for this he competed, healthily, and as God helped him and gave him to understand, with the other cinema owned by Antoñito el canario, D. Antonio Rodríguez, or Cine Luz Tías, as it was known. The priest wanted to use cinema as a cultural weapon at the service of the people with an offer of uncensored films and of a neutral genre.
There were many hardships to take the cinema through the towns with volunteer operators and which rewarded free attendance to the altar boys. The gala billboard for a special day was disputed between "El Padrecito" by Mario Moreno "Cantinflas" in the Parochial cinema in the Sociedad Vieja or a Western with a lot of action in the "Luz" Cinema.
D. José was a priest with a marked Jesuit vocation, dedicated to the apostolate, he lived for others, in his house poverty was breathed, he was "a Fray Luna", he lived like a true saint and deserves to be canonized, add those who knew him in depth.
14.-After the thirteen years of permanence of the previous parish priest, the priest born in Valleseco LUIS MARRERO SOSA (1968-1976) arrived with his first parish destination in December 1968. Although his predecessor had a couple of months to fully make his farewell, at first, he tried to live in the old priest's house, but the conditions of the house were not the most appropriate for this young priest and he chose to live temporarily in a house for teachers, then in the house of Mrs. Cándida and later in the church itself, until he managed to finish a small parish house next to the church in the early seventies.
D. Luis had to be in the parish of Tías between the French May and the subsequent death of Franco. He was a very affable priest, he changed the layout of the pulpit, turning his back to face the faithful, he abandoned the cassock for gray trousers and shirt with a Roman collar. He had a white "beetle" and punctually traveled the parish geography.
He worked and listened to young people, youth associations and neighborhood associations. He went out of his way for everyone, children, young people, adults and the elderly, he fought to have a freer and fairer parish.
He finished the work begun by D. José of the church with great sacrifices and the parish house, the latter with the help of the PPO and the sale of the machines of the Parochial cinema, which had already gone bankrupt, for which the businessman Juan Perdomo offered him about twenty thousand duros. He promoted the start of construction of new hermitages in the payments and managed to roof the church of Puerto del Carmen with the help of the Danish businessman Neil Prahm.
15.-D. JESUS VEGA MESA (1976-79), arrived at the parish between the pre-constitutional stage and the celebration of the first democratic elections, this priest from Ingenio says that his predecessor gave him all the details of the parish so that he would feel comfortable, introducing him to the people who had the greatest involvement with the Parish: Cándida, Lila, Juanita, Benigno, Julián, Salvador, Mari Lola? and others linked to the parish and social life of the town.
Suso tells me, with evident freshness, that life in Tías, in those years, unfolded between the church and the Sociedad Unión Sur. The church was a hive of young people. Apart from the catechesis or the celebration of masses, the Junior Movement reached its peak and motivated many children, who then joined the youth groups: Julián, Marcos, Paco, Nélida, Dulce?were some of the young people who were very involved in the task. The children and young people worked with a very open mind in cultural, ecological, community activities. The palm trees on Tías' Central Avenue were the result of the parish youth movement, who decided to plant them to motivate love for nature. Suso undertook walks with them to visit trails, caves, collect "baby potatoes", camping, meetings with the boys from other towns, etc.
The parish library was created with the commitment and effort of everyone and on Sundays the youth club was put into operation in one of the church halls. Punctually, from four o'clock onwards, more than 70 young people would meet to discuss political, social and religious issues. Open, spontaneous debates that helped many to become aware of many situations, to know how to express themselves, to think and to know how to dialogue.
After three or four hours of games, dialogue or songs, the group would go to the Sociedad where there was a small disco, which opened for a couple of hours on holidays no later than ten o'clock.
Suso did a great job with the young people. We can speak of a fortunate generation, generating a climate of respect between young people and adults. Suso promoted the creation of the religious community of Franciscan missionaries for Puerto del Carmen.
16.-The seventies ended, from the incipient tourist beginnings we moved on to the development of the eighties with the established Democracy. The new bishop D. Ramón Echarren arrived and proposed to Jesús Vega Mesa the position of Formator of the Minor Seminary in Las Palmas. The good Suso resorted to all the support to continue his pastoral work in Tías, which had achieved so many fruits in a short time.
In the eighties and nineties there were several short appointment movements at the head of the parish of La Candelaria. The first of them was D. MARTÍN LOPETEGUI ARTOLA (1979-1982). He was a priest of the Franciscan order, a Basque with a full beard, upright, clear, sensible and sometimes rude and harsh, who at first found it very difficult to adapt to the town and also the parishioners to the parish priest, but he knew how to respect all the social movements activated since the time of D. Luis.
17.- JESÚS MARQUÉS MARTÍN-CEREZO (1982-86), a priest with a late vocation, high religious education, with an aristocratic appearance and very meticulous and refined opinions. In his time, the exchange was made with a promoter of the old priest's house, at the exit to San Bartolomé, for another one near the Barranco de las Truchas. In this way, the nuns settled in their new residence.
He got a large cast of collaborators and catechists, promoted adult education and promoted the Parish Council, producing a stagnation in the aspirations of youth movements, with the closure of parish halls.
He was a polyglot priest, which led him to promote celebrations in several languages in Puerto del Carmen, French, Italian, German?hence the bishop proposed him to direct the Ecumenical Temple of Maspalomas.
18.-JOSE RODRÍGUEZ DÍAZ (1986-89), a Franciscan priest, a native of Arucas, came from the nearby parish of Yaiza. Pepe had to finish the 80s reorganizing a parish that had grown in parishioners. To do this, he got a large number of collaborators, catechists and strengthened visits to families with sick people at home, relaunched premarital courses for young couples, launched a program on Radio Lanzarote, "The Church Today", which was broadcast live on Saturday mornings. A very friendly, close priest, his pleasant homilies full of humanity and humility were accompanied by his good voice and ability to sing and play musical instruments.
He is a composer, author of melodies and has recorded two albums.
19.- ANTONIO ALGARA (1989-1992) arrived at the parish of Tías from Madrid, quickly connected with the tourist area of Puerto del Carmen and was the pioneer priest of masses in English. He focused on pastoral work, masses and imparting sacraments, catechesis and social work was assigned to the congregation of the Franciscans. He stayed barely two years.
20.-The parish priest who has been in charge of the parish for the shortest time has been number twenty in the order, MIGUEL SAN MARTÍN (1992-93). A former Jesuit, he arrived at the parish of Tías from abroad, specifically from Uruguay. There is a published book about his mission. During his stays in the missions he had suffered an attack that had left him with physical and psychological consequences. His stay was marked by illness, which caused him some impediments to carry out his functions, he easily lost the thread of the homilies.
21.- D. DOMINGO RIVERO VIERA (1993-98), a priest from Teror, took charge of the parish as a deacon for a whole year, assisted by a priest from Las Palmas, who celebrated masses on Sundays until in 1994 he obtained the title of the parish.
This priest in his five years focused his efforts on: attention to the Parish and work with Cáritas and the commemorative acts of the Bicentennial of the parish.
Domingo encouraged participation through solidarity, channeling efforts towards the most disadvantaged through Cáritas and undertook a restoration work of all the temples of the parish.
To prepare the acts of the Bicentennial, whose anniversary was on July 18, 1996, the cultural association "Cobican 96" was created, which prepared a work plan divided into three programs: one on the general history of the parish, rescue of traditions and religious festivals, another on religious activities and a program of neighborhood participation. He promoted the twinning with the parish of La Oliva.
This priest is currently secularized, works for the Yrichen foundation, is married and has two daughters.
22.- The penultimate priest was D. AMBROSIO SEBASTIÁN ABESO NBESO-NDJENG ANGONO (1998-2004). A native of Equatorial Guinea, he began his priestly studies in Malabo and culminated them in the Canary Islands. The bishop appointed him parish priest of La Candelaria in Tías. Once again the parish is run by a first-time priest. "It's your first love and you never forget it," Bishop Francisco Cases told him.
The arrival of this black priest did not go unnoticed by society. Ambrosio settled with his large family in the parish house and was welcomed by a multicultural municipality. During his stay he acted as patron for the Guinean community on the island, published a book and proclaimed these festivities in 2007.
23.-With the current parish priest JOSE MANUEL MARTINEZ CRUZ, we conclude this 215-year journey, highlighting that the personality of each of these priests and their relationship with the society of this municipality have shaped an important part of the historical identity of Tías in the times when the Catholic religion was preponderant in the spiritual aspect of this community. Today's reality is more diverse in every way and Tías still needs people, regardless of their religious or ideological creed, to play the role that most of these priests have played: relating to society, being supportive, caring for those who suffer, participating in the improvements that the municipality needs, defending human values in practice?
I end with a décima borrowed from a friend that says:
In times of creation
Elements of history
Reviving memory
For the events that upon arrival
The sea breezes blow
Legendary Virgin Mother
Virgin Mother you are Canarian
Give backwaters of warmth
Give tenderness and sweet love
Virgin of Candelaria
Happy Candelaria Festivities. Tías 2011!
