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The Ermita de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de la Popa is at the end of the Desengano Street. It can be reached after a 15-minute walk north-west from Plaza Mayor.

 

 

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.

The Virgin of Candelaria or Our Lady of Candelaria is a Marian devotion of the Catholic religion that has its origin in Tenerife (Spain).  Its etymology derives from candelero or candela which refers to light: the holy light that guides towards the right path and redemption and revives faith in God. Its feast day is celebrated, according to the liturgical calendar, on February 2, and it remembers the presentation of Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem after his birth and the purification of Mary.