Nuestra Senora de los Angeles Basilica

I decided to take a pilgrimage to the city of Cartago today, about 25 km away from San Jose... It's a holy city, best known for it's Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, which shelters the sacred stone statute of "La Negrita"... Dad said he visited this city with the army back in 1981... Also, the older ladies of San Carlos all recommended that I go see the basilica... So I got to Cartago without much problem, yet had no clue where to find this basilica... After a little bit of asking, I finally found it... It was an older cathedral, yet still quite extravagant! Built in 1905 and restored twice after. Inside was even more incredible, with high ceilings, statues, lights, paintings, and so forth... the place was full of people praying, yet more interesting were people who would walk the center isle on their knees... talk about painful! This was a hard-tile floor, and they would start from the back all the way to the front alter, moving little by little with their knees...


Outside and under the church, is the shrine of "La Negrita" the patron saint of Costa Rica... Here's the story;

In the year 1635 before Cartago was even a city, there was an Indian woman named Juana Pereira who was walking through the forest, when she saw a strange light coming from between the trees... So she followed the light and found a small black stone in the shape of the Virgin nestled inside a much bigger rock. She took the statue home with her, yet by some mysterious act, the stone vanished from Juana and returned twice to it's spot in the forest. Juana then gave the statue to the town priest for safekeeping, and still the Virgin mysteriously returned to its spot in the forest. Therefore the priests decided that this spot in the forest was a sacred place, and built the Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Los Angeles to honor "La Negrita"...
People here in Costa Rica are extremely religious, and they especially adore the Virgin Mary... Almost any house I walk into has some sort of painting, statue, or shrine of Mother Mary... I definetly got my dose of her in the month of May with Dona Janette and Rosario, and I've gained a greater appreciation for her... Yet even more importantly is a stronger faith in general, after being here in this country for almost three months... Ticos are very proud of their faith and they don't hide it... From the kids to the older people... They speak with constant references to God... "Si dios quiere!", "Gracias a dios", "Dios mio", etc... and everywhere you go you see people showing off their crosses; on necklaces, wristbands, shirts, hanging in car mirrors, etc... and every city has an incredible cathedral at its center, with a park full of people... It's awesome to see such passion... I've always been happy with my Catholic faith, Catholic family, my hardcore Catholic dad, Catholic friends, and a Catholic education... yet I think I'm even prouder now after experiencing the devotion of the Ticos...