Candelaria's Unbuilt Neo-Gothic Basilica

High on the La Magdalena cliff, overlooking where the Basilica of the Virgin of Candelaria stands today, there was once a grand plan for a neo-Gothic temple. It was meant to have a long, impressive staircase leading up to it. This ambitious project began in 1926, but after years of work and significant investment, all that remains are some visible walls and excavations.

Octavio Rodríguez Delgado, the official historian for Güímar and Candelaria, explains, "It was designed to be a magnificent structure, a basilica that would tower over Candelaria and be seen from nearby towns, even from Santa Cruz."

The sanctuary dedicated to the Patron Saint of the Canary Islands, the Virgin Mary, has a long history, with several different designs and phases. Before the current temple, there was an earlier basilica, opened in 1692. Rodríguez Delgado remembers it was located "practically in the same place where the building stands today."

That Dominican convent was destroyed by fire in 1789. With the sanctuary gone, and after many years without a permanent temple, the first stone for a second basilica dedicated to the Patron Saint of the Archipelago was laid on September 22, 1803. This new temple began construction on the ruins of the fire-damaged building. Because of this, the statue of the Virgin of Candelaria had to stay in a "temporary" chapel for 156 years.

The Dominicans were expelled from the convent in 1836 due to disentailment laws. The order didn't return to Candelaria until 1922, when Bishop Gabriel Llompart y Jaume gave them back the sanctuary and convent.

The building they found was too small and in poor condition. From then on, the friars hoped to build a grand sanctuary worthy of the Virgin of Candelaria's importance as the General Patron Saint of the Archipelago.

They then faced a dilemma: should they finish the temple started in the early 19th century in the town center, or build an entirely new one in a more prominent location?

The decision was to go ahead with building a large basilica on the La Magdalena cliff. This massive structure would sit above the current basilica's location, where the Civil Guard barracks are now.

Designed by Swiss architect Max Alioth, the project envisioned a neo-Gothic building. It would feature three naves, two four-sided towers, a large transept topped with a prominent central tower, and grand rose windows.

The plans also included impressive monumental staircases to bridge the height difference up to the cliff where the basilica would stand.

Dominican friar Vicente Bravo Bravo described the planned basilica as a "luminous and harmonious beacon of Catholicism, destined to dominate a landscape of sea and land with an imposing effect."

Work started in August 1926. Bravo Bravo recounted, "The land on the cliff was bought, a funicular was set up to move materials, winches and wagons were assembled, and the initial foundations were dug, with the Lord Bishop laying the first stone."

To bridge the height difference between the town center and the cliff, a structure with rails and hoisting systems was built, allowing stone, cement, and iron to be lifted to the site. However, after the initial digging and foundation work, bad news came: the ground wasn't stable enough to support such a large basilica, as the chronicler explains.

One notable attempt to save the project involved building a massive reinforced concrete breakwater, several meters thick, on the part of the hill facing the sea. Its purpose was to prevent landslides. Bravo Bravo described this structure, which still stands today, as a "cyclopean wall driven into a cliff."

The project's turning point came during an official visit from the Dominican provincial father, Fray Manuel Herba. After inspecting the work and speaking with the surveyor Diego Galera, they concluded the project had to be abandoned. It was impossible to find solid foundations; the ground simply wasn't stable enough for such a huge building.

On top of this, financial contributions from Cuba decreased due to the 1929 crisis and the political instability leading up to the Second Republic. The events of 1936 ultimately stopped the work completely. The chronicler summarizes this failed project by saying, "It was a statement of intent; they wanted to impress the world."

Finally, construction of the current Sanctuary began with a new architect, Enrique Marrero Regalado. Work started on March 1, 1949, and took ten years to complete. On February 1, 1959, Monsignor Hildebrando Antoniutti consecrated the new building.

The next day, the statue of the Patron Saint of the Canary Islands was moved into the new basilica, nearly 180 years after the fire that had destroyed the previous temple. The total cost of the work was over eight million pesetas.

As chronicler Manolo Ramos puts it, "The Basilica of Candelaria that could have been and was not" serves as a reminder that not all dreams can be built on any ground.