Roman Catholic Diocese of San Cristóbal de La Laguna
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Diocese of San Cristóbal de La Laguna Dioecesis Sancti Christophori de Laguna or Dioecesis Nivariensis Diócesis de San Cristóbal de La Laguna or Diócesis de Tenerife |
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| Location | |
| Country | Spain |
| Ecclesiastical province | Seville |
| Metropolitan | Seville |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 3,381 km2 (1,305 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2010) 1,020,490 884,000 (86.6%) |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Rite | Latin Rite |
| Established | 1 February 1819 |
| Cathedral | Cathedral of San Cristóbal de La Laguna |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop | Bernardo Álvarez Afonso |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Juan Asenjo Pelegrina |
| Map | |
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| Website | |
| Website of the Diocese | |
The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Cristóbal de La Laguna (Latin: Sancti Christophori de Laguna), also called Diocese of Tenerife or Diocese Nivariense, is a diocese located in the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna in the Canary Islands in the Ecclesiastical province of Sevilla in Spain. The diocese includes the islands of Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro, in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
The principal patron saint of the diocese is the Virgen de los Remedios. Smaller patron saints are St. Ferdinand III of Castile and St. Elizabeth of Portugal. The patron saint of the Canary Islands is the Virgin of Candelaria, whose shrine belongs to this diocese. The bishop of this diocese is Bernardo Álvarez Afonso.
The arrival of Christianity to the western islands of the Canaries took place (as in the eastern islands) before the complete conquest of the archipelago and its incorporation into the Crown of Castile held in 1496 with the conquest of the island of Tenerife. Christianization was motivated basically as preparation for the subsequent conquest.
In this work the Normans missionary friars and then Catalan and Majorcan (especially Franciscans and Dominicans) who settled first in the eastern islands where even founded bishoprics and from where they began to evangelize the Westerners occupied. These, (as will happen later in America) accompanied the conquistadores in their mission to convert and catechize the aboriginals guanches, which like other ancient peoples had their own religion. Perhaps in this respect, the Christianization undertaken by the friar and missionary Fray Alfonso de Bolaños, dubbed the "Apostle of Tenerife", stands out among the gloves, about 30 years before the conquest of it.
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