The basílica de nuestra señora de los ángeles presentation
1. THE BASÍLICA DE NUESTRA
SEÑORA DE LOS ÁNGELES
Jennifer Castillo Solís
Natalia Molina
Jenny Park
2. 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.
4. 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.
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.