The Shrine of the Virgin of the Volcanoes in Lanzarote

In the municipality of Tinajo on the island of Lanzarote, the hermitage and sanctuary of Nuestra Señora de los Dolores stands as a significant religious site. It houses the venerated image of the Virgin of Los Dolores, also known as Nuestra Señora de los Volcanes, who is the patron of the island of Lanzarote. The building follows the architectural patterns of local island temples and is designated as a Bien de Interés Cultural.

The origins of the hermitage and the devotion to its image are strictly linked to volcanic eruptions that began near the village of Chimanfaya in September 1730. During these events, the neighborhood of Chimanfaya, Mancha Blanca, and Rodeo, which belonged to the hermitage of Nuestra Señora de Candelaria near Tisalaya, sought intervention from the Virgin. By 1735, as lavas approached Tajaste, the people of Tinajo requested that the Virgin of Los Dolores be named as the mediator of the eruptions, leading to a procession from the hermitage of San Roque de Tinajo to Güiguán.

While the founding act does not record the construction of a building, oral tradition says a promise was made to raise a hermitage at a site marked by a cross where the lava stopped. In 1774, a nine-year-old girl named Juana Rafaela reported an apparition of a woman dressed in black, who reminded her parents of their promise to build a hermitage. The construction is estimated to have lasted ten years from 1774, with the site opening to worship between 1781 and 1785. The site features a wooden cross made of tea wood, with a documented date of 16.IV.1736.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons