Virgin of Los Angeles Day
Sunday, August 2, 2026
The Feast of Our Lady of the Angels, known in Spanish as Fiesta de la Virgen de los Angeles, is celebrated on August 2 and is the most important religious festival in Costa Rica. The day honors the Virgin of Los Angeles, also known as La Negrita or the Black Virgin, the patron saint of Costa Rica. According to tradition, in 1635, a small stone statue of the Virgin Mary holding the infant Jesus was discovered by an Indigenous woman named Juana Pereira on a rock in the forest outside Cartago, the historic capital of Costa Rica. The statue, only about 20 centimeters tall and carved from dark stone, is known for its dark complexion, which has led to the affectionate nickname La Negrita. The basilica built to house the statue, the Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels in Cartago, is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Central America. The feast day is a national holiday in Costa Rica, and millions of pilgrims, known as romeros, travel to Cartago each year to venerate the statue.
History
The story of the Virgin of Los Angeles begins in 1635 in the outskirts of Cartago, Costa Rica. According to the traditional account, an Indigenous woman from the Puebla de los Pardos named Juana Pereira found a small stone image of the Virgin Mary on a rock while gathering firewood. She took the statue home, but the next day it had mysteriously returned to its original rock. This happened repeatedly, leading the local clergy to interpret the phenomenon as a divine sign. A small hermitage was built on the site, which became the focus of growing devotion. In 1782, construction began on a larger church, and in 1824, the Virgin of Los Angeles was officially declared the patron saint of Costa Rica. The current Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels was built between 1912 and 1930 in a distinctive Byzantine-Revival style, replacing an earlier structure destroyed by the 1910 Cartago earthquake. Pope John Paul II visited the basilica in 1983 and elevated it to the status of a minor basilica. The statue, which remains on its original stone pedestal, has been the object of countless miracles attributed to the Virgin's intercession.
How It's Celebrated
The Feast of the Virgin of Los Angeles is marked by the Romería, an annual pilgrimage to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels in Cartago. Pilgrims walk from all parts of Costa Rica, many traveling for days on foot, some completing the final stretch on their knees as an act of devotion. The basilica is filled with worshippers on August 2, with Masses celebrated throughout the day and into the night. Devotees touch the rock on which the statue was found, located behind the main altar, and leave offerings of candles, flowers, and tiny milagros (metal charms representing prayers or healings). The celebration includes traditional Costa Rican music and food stalls selling local specialties like tamales, chiverre, and cafe chorreado. Many pilgrims wear replicas of the small statue on necklaces and carry banners with the Virgin's image. The event is both deeply religious and a celebration of Costa Rican national identity and cultural unity.