Faces of Costa Rica

1635 was a special year for Costa Rica. It is the year that the country's Patron Saint, La Negrita, first made an appearance in the area of Cartago. La Negrita is the Tico nickname for the Virgin Mary.

A mestizo (mixed European and Indian heritage) woman was looking for firewood when she came across a small stone image standing on a large stone, according to the legend. Upon a closer look, she saw that the image was of the Virgin Mary with Baby Jesus in her arms. Excited by her find, the woman took the image home and put it in a basket.

The next day when she went out to collect firewood again, she found a carved image of a snake on the same stone in the same place. She brought this image home too. When she opened the basket, she found the the image of the Virgin Mary was missing. She locked the remaining image up so that no one could take it.

The next day she went out again, and found the image of the Virgin Mary on the same stone again. She took it home, and found the other image missing. This time she was scared, and took the image to the priest and told him the story. The priest took the image, and when he went to examine it the next day, it had disappeared. He went to the forest, and found it on the same stone. He took it back to the Church, and put it with the image of Jesus on the cross. The following day, when he went to give communion at Mass, the image had disappeared. He found her in the woods on the stone. Legend says she wanted a Church built in that spot, around her "throne", in order to unite the Costa Rican population.

The Basilica was built on the site where La Negrita was found. Inside the Basilica is a shrine to La Negrita, where the stands on an altar. The Costa Rican government declared La Negrita the Patron Saint of Costa Rica on September 23, 1824.