A replica of the holiest religious effigy in Costa Rica will be enthroned at the Pontifical Parrish of Saint Anna in the Vatican on April 26^th. Affectionately known as “La Negrita” and formally called “Our Lady of the Angels,” the Patriot Saint and Guardian of Costa Rica is part of a beloved Roman Catholic tradition that involves veneration and an annual pilgrimage to the city of Cartago, the former capital of Costa Rica.

The idea of La Negrita being enthroned at the Vatican was suggested by President Laura Chinchilla, whose visit with Pope Francis was followed by the Costa Rica Star back in November. According to Fernando Gutierrez of national newspaper La Nacion, President Chinchilla proposed the idea to Pope Francis, who was already familiar with the religious lore of La Negrita and even the Virgin of Ujarras, who was the first Patron Saint of Costa Rica.

The enthronement at Saint Anna will take place as part of the ceremonies preceding the canonization of Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII. As previously reported by the Costa Rica Star, our country has played an important role in elevating Pope John Paul II to sainthood through a miracle and the cooperation rendered to Vatican investigators, who even found a Tico to serve as devil’s advocate during the proceedings.

The legend of La Negrita has been previously retold on the pages of the Costa Rica Star:

a young indigenous girl, Juanita Pereira, found the statue of the “Black Virgin” on Aug. 2, 1635, while gathering wood in the forest outside [Cartago], which at the time was racially segregated. The young girl carried the unique stone said to resemble the Virgin Mary with child in her arms to her home and locked it up. It is said that the small 6 inch stone image almost immediately disappeared, only to mysteriously return to its original spot on the rock in the woods where it was originally discovered. This happened not once, but numerous times, including after giving the stone to a local prominent priest, who then proclaimed it to be a miracle and so began it’s high regard throughout the country! The legend lived on, and in 1824, “La Negrita”, as the black Virgin image is referred, was officially bestowed as the patron saint by the Costa Rican government.

President Chinchilla, who had previously met with Pope Benedict XVI before his abdication last year, has been instrumental in maintaining good diplomatic relations with the Vatican. At a time when many people in Costa Rica are calling to strike Roman Catholicism off the Constitution, President Chinchilla and the Vatican seem to have come to a silent agreement that calls for greater attention to the good that the church can do for the people instead of focusing on political and constitutional matters, which in the end are largely symbolic.