Our Lady of the Angels, patron saint of Costa Rica

Our Lady of the Angels (Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles) is the patron saint of Costa Rica. The pilgrimage begins on July 25 and ends on August 2, the feast of Our Lady of the Angels, attracting some 2.5 to 3 million faithful to the Basilica of Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles in the town of Cartago, Costa Rica. Most come on foot from nearby towns and even from the capital. Others by road from neighboring countries.

According to tradition, on August 2, 1635, a peasant woman found a stone statuette of the Virgin Mary holding the infant Jesus. She took it home, but the statuette miraculously reappeared in the place where it had been found. So the people of Cartago decided to build a shrine around it. The 17th-century building was largely destroyed by an earthquake, and the present one dates from 1912-1913. 

In 1824, the Virgen de los Ángeles (Virgin of Angels) was proclaimed patron saint of Costa Rica. August 2 is a public holiday in this very Catholic country.

Adapted from an article in BiblioMonde's International Almanac

www.bibliomonde.fr