On Saturday I went to Cartago, which was the former capital of Costa Rica. They also have the most famous basilica in the country, with "La Negrita" housed underneath it. Apparently it is the site of a very large pilgrimage on August 2, the feast day of the Virgin of the Angels.
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| Church ruins that are now home to a garden inside. |
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| The museum in Cartago, which I just happened to stumble upon! |
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| A beautiful mural depicting the history of Cartago and Costa Rica, painted by a woman from Cartago. It was just finished last year, and took over two years to complete! |
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| Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Los Ángeles |
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| All the pillars are painted beautifully. I wish I could have gotten a good photo of the stained glass windows because they were stunning! |
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| People lining up to get their holy water from the spring. |
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"La Negrita"
Here is the story of the statue:
Legend has it that in Costa Rica, the Black Madonna statue was discovered by a Costa Rican girl in 1635, who was looking for firewood. Upon finding the statue, shaped like a doll, on top of a stone, she brought it home and when she awoke the next morning it was gone. Returning to the stone, there was statue. This, according to legend happened three times. In some telling, the little girl told the residing priest, Father Baltazar de Grado, and the same thing happened to the priest as well. Since then the legends have grown, and persisted.
La Negrita became the Patron Saint of Costa Rica in the year 1824 and was visited by the late Pope John Paul II in 1983.
http://thecostaricanews.com/the-mystery-of-la-negrita-costa-ricas-holy-relic-the-virgin-of-the-angels/12933 |
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