Basilica of the Immaculate Conception
Main Celebrant: Father Manuel Puga
Time: 7:00 p.m.

Each year on Aug. 2, people throughout Costa Rica set aside time to honor their Patron Saint, Virgen de los Angeles – Our Lady of the Angels.

The story of this special Marian celebration dates back to the 1635, when a woman named Juana Pereira was searching for firewood one day and discovered a small image of the Virgin sitting beside a path near Cartago, Costa Rica.

The simple image was carved out of dark stone depicts the Blessed Mother carrying the Christ child in her left arm. The woman took the image home with her, but noticed soon after that the image disappeared from her home and a short while later, the image was rediscovered in the same place originally found.

This happened five more times as others took the image home, and each time it was found in the place where Juana found it in the first place. Finally, the locals took this as a sign that the Virgin wanted a permanent shrine built on that site.

Today, the shrine is visited by many faithful from around the world, especially on Aug. 2. The image was crowned in 1926, and Pope Pius XI declared the shrine of the Queen of Angels, a basilica.