THE BASÍLICA DE NUESTRA SEÑORA DE LOS ÁNGELES
Jennifer Castillo Solís
Natalia Molina
Jenny Park
T
he most important site in Cartago – and the most
venerated religious site in the country – this basilica
exudes grace, with fine stained-glass windows, hand-
painted interiors and ornate side chapels featuring carved
wood altars. Though the structure has changed many
times since 1635, when it was first built, the relic that it
protects remains unharmed inside.
OUTSIDE OF BASILICA
L
a Negrita (the Black Virgin) is a small (less than 1m tall), representation of the Virgin
Mary, found on this spot on August 2, 1635 by a native woman. As the story goes, when
she tried to take the statuette with her, it miraculously reappeared back where she’d
found it. Twice.
S
o the townspeople built a shrine around her. In 1824, she was declared Costa Rica’s
patron Virgin. She now resides on a gold, jewel-studded platform at the main altar.
Each August 2, on the anniversary of the statuette’s miraculous discovery, pilgrims
from every corner of the country (and beyond) walk the 22km from San José to the
basilica. Many of the penitent complete the last few hundred meters of the pilgrimage
on their knees.
ON WITH THE SHOW