The mayor of Arrecife, Yonathan de León, and the parish priest of San Ginés, Juan Carlos Medina, have invited the capital's population to support the Virgen de Los Dolores, the popular patron saint of Lanzarote and La Graciosa, during her stay in the island's capital, coinciding with the 225th anniversary of the founding of the municipality of Arrecife.
This Saturday, the 30th, the Virgen de los Dolores will make her third exit, from her sanctuary in Mancha Blanca (Tinajo) to the Port of Arrecife. It was in December 1965 when the image of the Virgen de los Volcanes visited the church of San Ginés and toured the streets of the coastal capital of Lanzarote. Now, in this third exit in history, the patron saint does so coinciding with two important anniversaries: the 200th anniversary of the last eruptions in Lanzarote (1824) and the 225th anniversary of the founding of the municipality of Arrecife, after the creation of the parish of San Ginés.
Mayor Yonathan de León, highlighted this Thursday in a meeting with the media that this visit will be linked to the history of Arrecife and Lanzarote, and invited the conejera community to attend all the events during the week of the Virgin's stay in the city.
In a special way, the mayor made a call for citizens to support the Virgin on her entrance into Arrecife this Saturday, the 30th, around noon, after her pilgrimage from Mancha Blanca.
As reported by the mayor, it is planned that the pilgrims will enter the municipality through the old road of Güimes, and from there the Virgen de Los Dolores will be transferred in procession through the neighborhood of San Francisco Javier, through the historic area of Las Maretas, en route to the esplanade next to the Theme Park, in front of the beaches of Arrecife. Until the 70s of the last century, the entire area was covered by salt flats, one of the activities of Arrecife along with fishing, canning industries and commerce.
Official Reception next to El Reducto
The arrival of the image of the Virgin to this area of El Reducto is scheduled for around 1:30 p.m., where the island authorities will offer the welcome and official reception, presided over by the mayor of the city, Yonathan de León, and at the ecclesiastical level by the Bishop of the Canarian and Rubicense Diocese, José Mazuelos, together with the Auxiliary Bishop, Cristóbal Déniz.
Later, a procession will take place along the maritime front of Arrecife and will meet with the image of San Ginés Obispo, patron saint of Arrecife, in the area of Boca del Muelle (Puente de las Bolas), one of the historical enclaves of Arrecife, where the famous Puente de las Bolas is located, and will continue towards the church of San Ginés.
Bajada Program
The Virgin will be in Arrecife until Sunday, December 8, in which a series of religious celebrations will be organized and there will be pilgrimages from the municipalities to the capital, according to the parish priest of San Ginés, Juan Carlos Medina, this Thursday.
The exits of the image from the temple of San Ginés will be with the procession to the Doctor Molina Orosa University Hospital, on Sunday, December 1, starting at 3:00 p.m. and on Saturday, December 7, also at 3:00 p.m. to the Insular Hospital. On Sunday, December 1, a solemn mass will be offered at 9:00 in the morning.
In the same way, there will be a third exit on Friday, December 6, around 8:00 p.m. for the recitation of the Holy Rosary with the image of the Virgin in the Islas Canarias Park.
The parish priest Juan Carlos Medina detailed that the visits of about 2000 schoolchildren from all over the island are scheduled, and the patients of both hospitals have been writing in these days their prayers to Los Dolores, which will be delivered directly to the Virgin.
Bajada Program
The patron saint of Lanzarote will return to the sanctuary of Mancha Blanca on Sunday, December 8, starting at six in the morning.
Street closures in the city of Arrecife
In the security, traffic and civil protection devices in Arrecife, the mayor, as the direct head of the Local Police, the Councilor for Security and Emergencies, Kevin Cortés, and the Councilor for Traffic and Mobility, Mario González Altube, have intervened in a coordinated manner.
The roads and streets in the city of Arrecife that will be affected by this descent are the following:
- Camino Güime - Arrecife (from the Güime - Playa Honda roundabout to the San Francisco Javier roundabout), from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
- C/ Triana (from Camino a Güime to C/ Agrupación Folclórica Los Campesinos), from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
- C/ Agrupación Folclórica Los Campesinos (from C/ Triana to C/ El Forito), from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
- C/ El Forito, from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
- Avenida Fred Olsen (from the Rambla Medular - Cabildo roundabout to C/ Guenia), from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
- From Avenida Mancomunidad to Avenida Olof Palme, from 12:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
- C/ El Puente, C/ Inspector Luis Martín, C/ Academia, C/ Manuel Miranda, from 12:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
- C/ Brasil, C/ Otilia Díaz (from Plaza Las Palmas to C/ Real), C/ Liebre and C/ San Juan, from 12:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
- C/ García de Hita (from C/ Otilia Díaz to C/ Nicolás Martín), from 12:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
The mayor of Arrecife, at the conclusion of this meeting with the media, participated in the same square next to the church of San Ginés in a meeting for the coordination of security where representatives of the Local Police of Arrecife, Civil Protection Arrecife, National Police, Security and Emergency Consortium of Lanzarote, and the director of the Security Plan were present.
The Arrecife City Council has deployed about 40 troops, including Local Police and Civil Protection, to reinforce security in this descent.
