In front of you stands the oldest church in the city still in use and, in a way, Medellín's birth certificate. Before the place had a name, there was a hamlet here beside the Aná stream, today the Santa Elena creek.

1From thatched chapel to town

In 1649 the priest Juan Gómez de Ureña built a wooden chapel with a thatched roof on this spot and dedicated it to Our Lady of Candlemas, La Candelaria. The hamlet became known as Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Aná. On 2 November 1675, Governor Miguel de Aguinaga issued the decree that raised it to the rank of town, with the name Medellín, in honour of the Count of Medellín, Pedro Portocarrero, who had backed the founding at court.

2The church you see

The church was rebuilt several times. The present one was begun on 12 March 1768 and opened on 2 February 1776, Candlemas Day. The two towers came much later, in 1888, and in 1890 its three bells, brought from New York, rang for the first time.

From 1868 to 1931 this church was Medellín's cathedral, until the new one in Villanueva, on Bolívar Park, was consecrated.

The square in front of you was the main square. Between 1784 and 1892 it held the market and the great public ceremonies, and the leading families lived around it. In 1970 the church was made a minor basilica, and in 1998 it was declared a national monument.

3What to look for

  • The two towers, added in 1888 to a much older façade.
  • The tower clock, which for generations set the time for downtown.
  • The metro viaduct, just metres away: three centuries of city in a single glance.

Documented

The town of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Medellín was formally created on 2 November 1675, and the present church opened on 2 February 1776.

Oral tradition

Tradition holds that the painting of the Virgin on the high altar was a gift from the Queen Regent Mariana of Austria and her son Charles II.

Sources and credits

Javier Piedrahita Echeverri, «Monografía histórica de la parroquia de La Candelaria» (2006); José María Bravo Betancur, «De Plaza Mayor a Parque Berrío», Fondo Editorial Universidad EAFIT (2007); Archdiocese of Medellín.

Photos:

  • White façade of La Candelaria basilica with its two towers: José Luiz, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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