Todoque welcomes the Virgin of the Snows amid volcanic lava flows
The neighborhood of Todoque, buried under the lava of the Tajogaite volcano, once again became a gathering point and a source of collective emotion with the arrival of the Virgin of the Snows, patron saint of La Palma. She stepped onto the ground this Sunday where the former Church of San Pío X once stood.
There, amid volcanic ash and the remnants of what to be the heart of the town, residents gathered for the first time on the lava flow in a ceremony rich in symbolism. The event is part of the pilgrimage the image makes through the island’s fourteen municipalities in celebration of the Year of Hope.
The Virgin arrived in Todoque from La Laguna, another community affected by the eruption, traveling along the new LP‑211 road that links the two neighborhoods. Beyond restoring the connection, the road enables the start of the reconstruction process for the buried properties.
During the ceremony, the words of priest Domingo Guerra—who provided pastoral care to the community throughout the eruption—were recalled:
“I wish more churches like Todoque’s would fall, not the personal churches of each family that are their homes.”
Visibly moved, the people of Todoque read a letter to the Virgin expressing the community’s pain and hope to rise again from the lava. They wrote:
“We would have loved to welcome you with our streets adorned,”
recalling the old patronal festivities and the role of San Pío X as the neighborhood’s patron. As a tribute, they placed 85 flowers on the lava surface—one for each day the volcano remained active—hoping that “those flowers will one day become the first blocks of reconstruction.”
Sergio Rodríguez, President of the Cabildo of La Palma, highlighted the town’s resilience and described the visit as a “symbol of hope, unity, and commitment to reconstruction.” He declared emphatically that “Todoque exists,” represented by “the brave and patient victims of the worst catastrophe ever to hit the Canary Islands” and by the institutions still working toward its recovery.
Rodríguez also called the Virgin of the Snows “the sweetest and most powerful symbol of La Palma,” assuring that her presence in Todoque “will forever mark the life of our people and our memory.” He emphasized that the devastated land “is not, and will never be, an irreversible condemnation, but a stimulus to face tomorrow with courage.”
After leaving Todoque, the image continued its route to the Nuestra Señora de Los Ángeles cemetery, partially affected by the lava flows, where a Mass for the deceased was celebrated on All Saints’ Day. A local resident underscored the significance of this gesture, noting:
“We have many dead in the Las Manchas cemetery, and there are niches that can be rebuilt and others that cannot,”
referring to the lingering impact still visible beneath the lava.
The pilgrimage of the Virgin of the Snows—only the second in its history—occurs 61 years after the previous one, within the framework of a jubilee year that, beyond its religious dimension, has become a route of memory, consolation, and hope for an island still rebuilding from its roots.