As with the rest of Spain, Tenerife is largely Roman Catholic. However, the practice of other religions and denominations has increasingly expanded on the island due to tourism and immigration, as Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Evangelicalism, Judaism and Afro-American religion.
An important Roman Catholic festival is the celebration of the feast day associated with the Virgin of Candelaria, patron saint of the Canary Islands, who represents the union of the Guanche and Spanish cultures. The Guanches became devoted to a Black Madonna that Christian missionaries from Lanzarote and Fuerteventura left on a beach near the present-day Villa Mariana de Candelaria, which gave rise to the legends and stories associated with the Virgin. These legends fueled the cult of the Virgin and the pilgrimages to Candelaria that have existed to this day on the island. Another cult to the Virgin Mary exists in the form of Our Lady of Los Remedios (la Virgen de Los Remedios), who is patron of the Roman Catholic diocese of Tenerife (Diócesis Nivariense).
Principal Roman Catholic places of worship on the island include:
The Basilica of Candelaria (in Candelaria): The place where the image of the Virgin of Candelaria can be found, this sanctuary is built in neoclassical style, and is visited daily by the parishioners, who visit the Villa Mariana out of devotion to the Virgin.
The Cathedral of La Laguna (in San Cristóbal de La Laguna): The seat of the Diocese of Tenerife (known as the Diócesis Nivariense, or Nivarian Diocese), the cathedral is a place of devotion for Our Lady of Remedies (la Virgen de Los Remedios). A combination of neo-Gothic and neoclassical architectural elements, it is now being restored and rebuilt.
Real Santuario del Cristo de La Laguna (in San Cristóbal de La Laguna): Is one of the most important spiritual temples Canaries, this is because inside is venerated miraculous image of the Cristo de La Laguna, which is one of the most
