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CARTAGO The city of Cartago, founded in 1563, is the former capital of Costa Rica.  The city is situated at the base of the Irazu Volcano which nearly destroyed the city in 1723.   This is the primary reason for San Jose to be newly named the capital in 1823.   Our class had the opportunity to visit the city and Basilica.
The Basilica de Nuestra Señora de Los Ángeles (Our Lady of the Angels Basilica) is what draws many visitors to the city each year.
	Multiple attempts were made to construct the Basilica in one location but earthquakes repeatedly destroyed it. The decision was made to move construction to the site where a statue of Mary was found.
There is story behind the statue.  A young girl gathering wood in the forest found a statue of the Virgin Mary on a rock.  She took the statue home.  The next day she discovered the statue was gone.  She was in the forest and again found the statue on the same rock.  This happened several times so she went to a priest to tell her story.  He took the statue and locked it in a box.  However, the same thing happened where the statue was missing the next day and found on the very same rock.  The location of the rock is where the church sits today.  It is believed that this is where the Lady of Los Angeles wanted to be.
	Every August, millions of people from all over Costa Rica make a pilgrimage to the Basilica, some crawling as an act of piety.
Those making the pilgrimage come to cleanse themselves in the holy water which flows naturally from the rock on which the statue was found.  The photo at the right is the original statue found on the rock.
Charms and letters of thanks are dedicated to God for help and healing (click image to enlarge)
Interior view, the Cathedral ceiling as seen from directly below, and one of the impressive stained glass windows.
Various views of the church (click image to enlarge)
For more information about the city of Cartago, click here.
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