No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeTopicsArts and CulturePresident Solís to sit out annual Costa Rican religious pilgrimage to Cartago

President Solís to sit out annual Costa Rican religious pilgrimage to Cartago

President Luis Guillermo Solís said that he would not participate in the annual pilgrimage to Cartago’s Basilica of the Angels, known as the romería, this weekend.

Solís said that despite his Catholic faith and his family’s veneration of the Virgen de los Ángeles, Costa Rica’s patron saint, the trek to see “la negrita” is one tradition that he does not share.

“I did not do the romería as a citizen before and I’m not going to go as president,” Solís said.

The president said that he was not the first head of state to abstain from the pilgrimage and took issue with the notion that he was somehow breaking with tradition. Solís added that he said since he was a candidate that he did not want religious events that he attends to be politicized for “populist” reasons.

“The subject of my faith as a believer is mine, with my Lord,” Solís said.

The president said that he would attend the mass at the basilica on Saturday.

Solís acknowledged that Costa Rica was a confessional state in comments made Tuesday, but his administration has shaken up some parts of the country’s church and state tradition. During his inauguration Solís did not have a prayer. Soon after taking office, the Citizen Action Party (PAC) president raised a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rainbow flag at the Casa Presidencial in Zapote, rankling conservative Christian lawmakers.

The president’s party is at odds with the country’s conservative Catholic leaders, who oppose in vitro fertilization, expanding LGBT rights and the party’s support for a constitutional amendment to end Costa Rica’s status as a confessional state. Solís said that while PAC supports a constitutional amendment to make Costa Rica a secular state, lines of communication remained strong between the Church and Casa Presidencial. The president has attended several meetings with bishops, including one after a mass at the Basilica de los Ángeles with Bishop José Francisco Ulloa in May.

Trending Now

El Salvador Slams Paris Fashion Show Inspired by Cecot Mega-Prison Inmates

The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, joked on Saturday that he could send inmates from his mega-prison to France, after they were represented...

Costa Rica Hunts for Nicaraguan Hit Squad After Exile’s Assassination

Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) is investigating whether a hit squad tied to Nicaragua’s Ortega-Murillo regime is targeting exiled critics on its soil....

Celso Gamboa Allegedly Ran Drug Ring with Costa Rican Government Ties

Celso Gamboa, once Costa Rica’s Security Minister and a Supreme Court judge, now faces extradition to the U.S. for leading a major cocaine trafficking...

2025 Gold Cup: Honduras Advances After Dramatic Shootout, Mexico Ends Goal Drought

Honduras, with a surprising and dramatic penalty shootout victory over Panama, and Mexico, with a lackluster win against Saudi Arabia, advanced Saturday to the...

Panama Regains Control of Bocas del Toro After Violent Protests

Panama’s government has regained control of Bocas del Toro province after months of violent anti-government protests sparked by pension reforms, officials announced. The unrest,...

Costa Rica Joins U.S. Global Entry, Easing Travel for Tourists

Costa Rica took a big step forward, by officially joining the U.S. Global Entry program, a move set to make travel smoother for Costa...
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica