Canaries

CANARIE. – Archipelago of 14 islands (of which 7 are larger), of volcanic origin, situated in the northern Atlantic, southwest of the Moroccan coast. It covers a total area of 7496 sq km, three-fourths of which consists of the three largest islands: Teneriffa (ten times the size of Elba), Fuerteventura, and Gran Canaria. They have a subtropical-oceanic climate, with very mild winters (17% January average in Las Palmas) and scant precipitation; they are therefore renowned as winter health resorts. The extremely fertile soil produces chiefly early crops, bananas, tobacco, grapes, olives, and citrus fruits. The archipelago’s position makes it a port of call on routes from Europe to West Africa or Latin America. One of the islands, Ferro, was adopted (from 1634) as the prime meridian (20° west of Paris). Known since antiquity (Insulae Fortunatorum), they were rediscovered by the Italians in the 13th century and occupied by the Spaniards in 1512. Today they form two provinces of metropolitan Spain (and are consequently customarily assigned to Europe); of these, Las Palmas (named after the most populous city, with 151,000 inhabitants) comprises Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote (4053 sq km, 375,744 inhabitants in 1947); S. Cruz de Tenerife comprises the other eleven (3443 sq km, with 401,283 inhabitants).

DIOCESI DELLE C. - It was erected on 7 July 1406, that is, during the Great Western Schism, by the Avignonese pope Benedict XIII (Pietro de Luna), who wished the diocese to have its seat at S. Marciale di Rubicon on the island of Lanzarote. The first bishop was the Franciscan Alfonso di San Lucar di Barrameda. Among his successors we find other members of the same Order and Dominicans, as well as a Hieronymite and a Benedictine. In 1485 Innocent VIII transferred the see to Las Palmas, but this provision did not take effect until half a century later; from then on the bishop has resided in this capital, and has under his jurisdiction the islands of Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lobos and Lanzarote. In 1819 the diocese was divided, and from the islands of Teneriffa, Gomera, Ferro and Palma the diocese of Teneriffa, or S. Cristoforo della Laguna (v.), was formed. It has 184 churches, 111 parishes, 135 diocesan priests and 43 religious priests; the inhabitants number 340,215, for the most part Catholics (1948). It is a suffragan of Seville and has as its patron saints the Madonna del Pino and s. Pietro Martire.