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Virgen de los Ángeles
The Virgen de los Ángeles (lit. 'Virgin of the Angels') is Costa Rica's patron saint, also known as la negrita (lit. 'the little black lady'). August second is a national holiday in Costa Rica dedicated to her.[1] BackgroundAccording to tradition, la negrita is a small (about 3 inches (7.6 cm)), probably indigenous or mixed race, representation of the Virgin Mary found on 2 August 1635 by a native woman named Juana Pereira. As the story goes, when she tried to take the statuette with her, it miraculously reappeared twice back where she had found it. The townspeople then built a shrine around the statue.[2] In 1824, the Virgin was declared Costa Rica's patron saint. La negrita now resides on a gold, jewel-studded platform at the main altar in the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles in Cartago. Each 2 August, on the anniversary of the statuette's discovery, pilgrims travel 22 kilometres (14 mi) from San José to the basilica. Many of the penitent complete the last few hundred meters of the pilgrimage on their knees. This basilica is equally visited by tourists and locals.[3] Pope Pius XI authorized the canonical coronation of the image. The coronation ceremony was carried out in 1926.[4] In 2014, a replica of the statue was enthroned in the Vatican City.[5] See alsoReferences
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