The historic Cross of Saint Augustine has been moved in Santa Cruz.

In the city of Santa Cruz, the Cross of Saint Augustine, an important historical landmark of the El Toscal district, has been moved. It now stands near the Pisaca house.

The mayor of the city, José Manuel Bermúdez, considers this cross to be more than just a religious symbol. It is a part of the city's history that must be preserved.

Purificación Dávila, the councilor of the Centro-Ifara district, thanked Rosa Ramallo, the head of the local association "Light and Life," for restoring the cross and returning it to the city. She hopes that new generations will remember its significance. The new location for the cross is also a tribute to the "Light and Life" association for their restoration work.

Although the Augustinians were not in Santa Cruz de Tenerife for long, they left behind the Cross of Saint Augustine. In the 18th century, they tried to settle here, founding a hospice (shelter). It did not last long, but its name has been preserved in the names of some streets. The cross, which stood next to this place, is a reminder of their presence.

But the history of the cross was not simple. In 1945, when a building was being constructed at 57 La Marina Street, the cross disappeared. It was found in the city archives, where it had been forgotten. Rosa Ramallo from the "Light and Life" association rescued it.

The story of the Cross of Saint Augustine will be told on two information plaques, which will be placed at the corner of La Marina Street, near the Pisaca house, where it used to stand. The first plaque will describe the origin of the cross and the Augustinians in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. It will state that the Augustinians did not build monasteries here, like the Dominicans and Franciscans, but only founded a hospice.

It will also tell that the first attempt to found a hospice was back in 1711, but it was unsuccessful. In the second half of the 18th century, the hospice was finally opened. Religious figures traveling by sea or moving from one monastery to another stayed there. But in 1767, it was closed by order of the king. The hospice was located on La Marina Street, not far from the road to Huerta de los Melones and Paso Alto Castle.

The Cross of Saint Augustine, which stood here until 2025, is one of the few traces of the Augustinians' presence in Santa Cruz. Other traces, such as street names, have disappeared over time. Its first location gave its name to the street "Old Hospice", and then – "Augustinian Hospice" and "Saint Augustine". The cross, which was restored a few years ago, stood here until it was moved.

The cross was moved to the Pisaca house due to renovation work in the area. This will also help preserve this important historical landmark.

In the new location, there will also be an information plaque entitled "Cross of Saint Augustine". It will explain that the cross is associated with the hospice that the Augustinians founded in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the second half of the 18th century, after an unsuccessful attempt in 1711.

The hospice did not last long, so there are almost no traces of the Augustinians' presence in the city. Only this cross has survived to this day, which until 2025 stood at the intersection of La Marina and San Francisco streets, where the hospice once was.

According to a document kept in the National Historical Archive, the cross was made by Father Josep Antonio Guirola, who brought money from India. He erected a cross with a stone base at the intersection of the streets and did everything possible for this hospice. Historian Carlos Rodríguez Morales believes that the cross was erected around 1751, when Father Guirola returned from Mexico.