While my first and last stops will draw the most oohs and ahhs, the vast majority of Costa Rica’s Catholics don’t worship in these incredible locations. Rather, they’re experiencing the Mass in the small parish churches in their neighborhoods.
I wandered around the area near our hotel, located near Parque La Sabana, visiting a few of those smaller parishes. They included Iglesia de Maria Auxiladora, where children were flooding into the school building, Iglesia de San Juan Bosco, and Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. The neighborhood also featured the Nunciatura Apostolico, home to the Vatican’s diplomatic mission in the country.
As with all Central American countries, Costa Rica is overwhelmingly Catholic, with as many as 70 percent of the population born into the faith. But Costa Rica goes one step further, as it’s the only country in the region where Catholicism is adopted as the state religion.
In the park across from our hotel.
San Juan Bosco
Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
School kids entering Iglesia de Maria Auxiladora.
Nunciatura Apostolico.
52 Masses 