The image of the Virgin of los Dolores will be carried down to Arrecife for the third time in history in November, it has been announced.
The bajada (descent) will mark the 200th anniversary of the last of the volcanic eruptions on Lanzarote, which formed the Volcán del Clerigo Duarte in Tao. It was during this eruption that villagers of Mancha Blanca begged their virgin to spare their village from a tide of advancing lava, which then stopped just short of the church that was later built in honour of the virgin.
This event is Lanzarote’s only official miracle and converted the Virgin of Los Dolores into the popular patron of the island, also known as Our Lady of the Volcanoes.
The Virgin has only visited Arrecife twice before: once during the Spanish Civil War, and another time in 1965 as part of a religious event organised by the Irish/American priest Patrick Peyton’s Family Rosary Crusade.
The image of the Virgin, currently on display at the church in Mancha Blanca, will be carried down to Arrecife through the municipalities of Tinajo, San Bartolomé and Teguise and will arrive at the church of San Ginés in Arrecife on the 30th of November, where it will remain for eight days before its return on 8th December.
