
The Ermita de Nuestra Señora de la
Candelaria de la Popa is located at the foot of the hill of La Vigía, but currently the building is in ruins. Even so it is a
perfect place to enjoy the sunset. It is possible to reach there
by pedestrian walk from Desengaño street, which was developed in
1849.
History
The date when the Hermitage was built, has been found slightly
different by the researchers. Historian Francisco Marín
Villafuerte says this happened in the first quarter of the 18th
century, while historian Carlos Joaquín Zerquera states that it
may have happened before 1720. Researcher Carlos Venegas
determined that the construction was completed in 1716. On the
other hand, studies conducted by the Oficina del Curador de la
Ciudad de Trinidad y el Valle de los Ingenios on documents in
the local archives, show that the hermitage should have been
built before 1716.
Dedicated to the Virgin of Popa, Our Lady of Candelaria, this
hermitage is a twin to the hermitage in Cartagena de Indias in
Colombia that bears the same name and built one century earlier
(1611-1617). Cartagena de Indias had strong trade relations with
Trinidad at that time.
Between 1730 and 1740, a hospital was built adjacent to the
Hermitage to care for the financially infirm. The hospital
consisted of two rooms and total of 9 beds.
The cyclone that hit Trinidad in 1812 also caused serious damage
to the hermitage, especially to the roof, so that the renovation
of the building became mandatory. Thus, the building acquired
the present appearance. The repaired hospital began to be used
as a Spanish military hospital for a while. Between 1898 and
1902 the hospital was used as a barracks for the American
occupation army.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the church building was
modified by adding a new room for the sacristy on the Epistle
side, to the right of the nave.
Despite its dilapidated state and difficult conditions, the
hermitage continued to serve, but in the mid-1980s, its doors
were locked when it was understood that it had become a risk to
its environment.
The hermitage was abandoned to its fate after the attempts to
repair the building in 1984 and 1985 that could be completed.
However, its predicament caused the damage to the building to
increase even more rapidly.
Despite the building being closed, the Eucharistic service has
continued to be celebrated in the sacristy and on some
occasions, for special celebrations. For this purpose, the free
space that forms a small plaza in front of the church has been
used.
Architectural Features
The building consisted of a single nave of modest dimensions in
comparison to the other religious buildings in Trinidad. Since
its construction, the plan of the building was only altered by
the elevation of the floor. There were two rooms at the
entrance. From one of them, you can go up to the bell tower. In
the other one, baptismal ceremonies were held. To the left of
the presbytery there was the old square-sized sacristy. The
sacristy was covered by its original wooden hipped roof, whereas
the nave was covered by a wooden truss roof with two slopes and
tiles.
The front façade is in Baroque style. The entrance door is made
in the form of a flared arch. The attic has a sinuous profile.