Our Lady of Mercy Statue Returns to San Francisco Church for Altar Restoration Celebration

Seventy-five years after arriving in Puerto de la Cruz, the statue of Our Lady of Mercy is returning to the Church of San Francisco. This is where it was first welcomed and blessed just before Easter in 1950. The statue was bought in Barcelona by Juan Hernández Estévez, a skilled craftsman and devout man. From there, it was carried in a procession to the Chapel of El Calvario, where it has been kept and honored ever since.

This time, the journey will be in reverse. The statue will leave the chapel and travel to San Francisco, arriving on Saturday evening. It will stay overnight until Sunday, November 16th, when a special mass will be held. This event will also celebrate the unveiling and blessing of the newly restored altarpiece. The ceremony starts at 8:00 PM. Afterward, the statue, known as La Piedad, will be returned in a procession to its chapel. The route will take it through the streets of San Juan, Quintana, Agustín de Betancourt, Santo Domingo, La Marina, the north side of Plaza del Charco, San Felipe, Pérez Zamora, and Mequinez. It will be accompanied by, among others, the brotherhood of the Santísimo Cristo del Calvario and the Virgen de la Piedad. This brotherhood, founded in 1955, was the first of the Capuchin order in the city.

"We have no record, either written or from people's memories, of how long the statue stayed at San Francisco," said Ángelo Nardone, the priest in charge of this church, yesterday. He, along with Jojo Neyssery Lonunkatty, the priest at the Church of La Peñita, and a large team of volunteers from confraternities and brotherhoods, organized this visit. They were assisted by art historian Jesús Rodríguez and restorer Pablo Torres from Estudio 5, the team that restored the altarpiece. The restoration was very challenging due to the altarpiece's poor condition. At one point, a piece of the right-side corbel, where the statue of Saint John the Baptist is now, suddenly fell off. This concerned the members of the Vera Cruz and Misericordia confraternity, not only because the piece could be lost but also because it was a safety hazard. They shared their worries with Nardone, who declared its restoration "urgent."

The work began a year and a half ago and was very difficult, with many obstacles and a lack of clear documentation. Rodríguez and Torres explained that some aspects had to be figured out as the altarpiece "revealed itself" during the restoration, which they documented step-by-step.

Furthermore, discussions were held with officials from the Government of the Canary Islands, the Cabildo of Tenerife, and the Bishopric to agree on the best course of action. Torres noted, "We discovered an 18th-century altarpiece, typical of the Canarian school, but with a distorted appearance. This meant there was a mismatch between what we saw and what an 18th-century Canarian altarpiece should look like." Samples were taken to determine the original colors and to uncover the altarpiece's full history.

The altarpiece was built in the mid-18th century, replacing an earlier one from the 17th century. The older altarpiece was reused when the new one, which is still in the central niche, was created. In the center are Christ of Mercy and the Virgin of Sorrows, sculpted by Francisco Liza from Murcia. To the right is Saint John the Baptist, the oldest statue in the church (1608), created by Andrés de Ocampo from Seville, and it originally belonged to the convent. To the left is Saint Francis of Assisi, as this is a Franciscan church. At the very top is the Immaculate Conception.

The altarpiece was constructed during a period when the convent faced financial problems, followed by its dissolution in the 19th century. Consequently, it was never fully gilded and the wood was left in its natural color. Over time, various attempts were made to give it a consistent finish. A 20th-century restoration was heavily criticized because, as Rodríguez explained, "it was done without any historical accuracy or plan and damaged the work."

Thanks to the recent restoration, new details were uncovered, such as markings suggesting it was meant to be decorated but was never completed.

Key challenges included a variety of materials, remnants of electrical wiring from different periods, and construction materials like brick, cement, lime, and sand. Even two cat skeletons were found. The wall supporting the altarpiece also presented problems.

The Estudio 5 team drew on collective memory. They stated, "We were told that during the time the church was managed by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Mary, the altarpiece was repaired. Everyone remembered it being white, and we used that information, cross-referencing our restoration with historical records and documentation."

Throughout the restoration process, visitors to the church could see the work in progress, and as sections were completed, they were revealed. However, it is this Sunday that they will see it in its full glory.

The Vera Cruz and Misericordia confraternity will be responsible for its upkeep. This involves being "vigilant" to quickly address any potential insect damage and to clean away dust that can cause humidity. In essence, they will clean and care for a valuable treasure, including the tabernacle, that has been recovered through great effort and will now further enhance the church.