Shalom. Recently, the Hebrew faithful in Costa Rica invited influential clerics from other religions for an ecumenical remembrance of a terrible act of religious intolerance that shall never be repeated. With the recent atrocities perpetrated by ISIS against the good people of France as background, the Judaic and Christian communities of Costa Rica commemorated Kristallnacht (night of the broken g...

Wikimedia Commons Beijing, Nov 13 (EFE).- Tibetan monks and nuns are receiving counterespionage instruction from the Chinese government, a program aimed at combating the Tibetan independence movement and counteracting the influence of the exiled Dalai Lama, the official daily Global Times reported Friday. Twenty-two monks and nuns from three area temples attended a three-hour-long class in ...

Washington, Nov 6 (EFE).- A 32-year-old Texas man who is dying of cancer had his dream come true of seeing the latest film in the "Star Wars" saga in an exclusive screening before it reaches theaters in December. Daniel Fleetwood, given two months to live by doctors last July, is a great fan of the saga, which led his wife to launch a campaign on social networks urging the producers of "The For...

A simple man: Pope Francis. Source: Wikimedia Commons Buenos Aires, Nov 5 (EFE).- A group of thieves broke into the home of relatives of Pope Francis in Argentina's Mendoza province and made off with electronic equipment and the family pet, a toy poodle, local media reported on Thursday. Romina Ayelen Bergoglio, the pope's grand-niece, told local media that she saw three thieves leaving her...

Peace be with you. In the near future, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered (LGBT) population of Costa Rica will be able to enjoy a new dance venue in Downtown San Jose, specifically across from the Roman Catholic Church of La Soledad (The Solitude) in Chinatown. According to a recent news report filed by entertainment journalist Ariel Chaves Gonzalez of daily tabloid Diario Extra, Clu...

Rosh Hashanah treats. Flickr Commons Shalom. As a prime destination for medical tourism, many dental clinics in Costa Rica are staffed by multilingual professionals. At the Flikier Dental Institute, for example, English is spoken along with Spanish, French, and even Hebrew. On the day that Judaism celebrates its New Year holiday, which is known as Yom Teruah and Rosh Hashanah, it is importa...

Havana, Sep 11 (EFE).- The Cuban government will pardon 3,522 prisoners on the occasion of Pope Francis's visit to the island, according to a State Council agreement reported Friday in official media. The official announcement said the pardons will take effect within the next 72 hours for prisoners over 60 and under 20 years of age without criminal records, the chronically ill, women, inmates s...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, Aug 17 (EFE).- Brazilian police dismantled Monday a religious sect accused of subjecting its faithful to slavery-like conditions while accumulating a fortune of close to 100 million reais (some $28.6 million) in donations from its followers, officials said. At least six people were arrested in an operation aimed at dismantling a criminal organization "that use...

San Martin de Porres. Wikimedia Commons By Monica Martinez Lima, Aug 14 (EFE).- Sts. Rose of Lima, Martin de Porres and Juan Masias, all of whom died more then 400 years ago, will soon have their faces recreated by the most cutting-edge technology used in forensic odontology. The remains of the three saints lie in Santo Domingo Convent in Lima, where a team of forensic odontologists from...

A replica of La Negrita. Source: Flickr Comons At the Romeria, a very important Roman Catholic pilgrimage in Costa Rica that takes place every year, Red Cross medical personnel have treated 397 faithful pilgrims over the last couple of days. According to a news report filed by Jason Torres for online news daily Costa Rica Hoy, 267 cases are related to heat exhaustion, dehydration, respirato...

Source: Panoramio Mexico City, Jul 30 (EFE).- The deaths of two more religious pilgrims who were run over by a cargo truck in the Mexican state of Zacatecas on Thursday brought to 26 the number of fatalities in the incident, state Gov. Miguel Alonso Reyes said Thursday. In comments to Radio Formula, Reyes said that 46 people hurt in the Wednesday evening accident in the town of Mazapil "rem...

A missionary from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, founded in the United States by Joseph Smith in the 19th century, was found dead in the home where he was staying while conducting his religious work in Costa Rica. The incident occurred in the rural community of Sarapiqui, located near the western edge of the Caribbean region of our country. The Mormon missionary had arrived in C...

Washington, Jun 21 (EFE).- Charleston's historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church reopened its doors Sunday and held its first service four days after a 21-year-old white man gunned down nine black church members in one of the worst tragedies of its kind at a U.S. religious institution. "A lot of folks expected us to do something strange and to break out in a riot. Well, they just don't...

Scientology objects of faith. Wikimedia Commons Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) June 12, 2015 – Costa Rican Scientologists, proud that their country was named one of the three happiest nations on earth by the Happy Planet Index this year, are taking a proactive approach to make sure it stays that way, promoting drug-free living with a drug-awareness walk in the center of the nation’s capital, San Jose...

Mennonite children. Wikimedia Commons By Santi Carneri El Breal-Colonia Sur, Bolivia, May 18 (EFE).- Mennonite communities in Bolivia's Chaco blend peasant and creole traditions as they adhere to their beliefs - no electric power and shunning modern technology - leading lives devoted to religion, agriculture and communal ranching. The dusty roads winding between hills have allowed the Ch...

Three out of ten municipal councils in Costa Rica have resolved that they will not allow the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages in the most solemn days leading up to Easter. As of Palm Sunday, only a handful of municipalities had not yet issued a decision on whether they should apply “dry laws” in their communities, and the total number of cantons and districts that will go dry this Thursd...

Any differences with Pope now "completely settled"Mexican Foreign Affairs Secretary Jose Antonio Meade. EFE/File Mexico City, Feb 25 (EFE).- Mexican Foreign Affairs Secretary Jose Antonio Meade said Wednesday that any differences with the Vatican were now "completely settled," after Pope Francis had warned in a private letter of the risk of the "Mexicanization" of Argentina, and he added that ...

Source: Jabad Lubavitch On a sunny and pleasant Sunday afternoon, the Jabad (Chabad) Lubavitch of Costa Rica celebrated the Januka Fiesta de las Luces (Hanukkah Festival of Light) with a very special activity for children in the loveable city of San Jose. The event took place at the elegant Avenida Escazu, and it was filled with fun, learning, and spirituality.   In addition to the ...

At a recent gathering that took place in the capital city of Costa Rica, men wearing ceremonial garb over their business suits conferred about topics such as apprenticeships, fellowcraft, medallions, seals, rituals, and the famous Scottish poet Robert Burns. This special meeting was presided by a special guest from a faraway land who bore gifts, including a medallion that was placed in a museum de...

Source: Correos de Costa Rica Correos de Costa Rica, the national post office and sole official issuer of postal stamps, has formally announced the issue of 15,000 special postage stamps that observe and celebrate Pope Francis' first year in the Holy See. The image of this fine stamp comes from an oil painting by a Costa Rican artist who personally traveled to the Vatican and presented his mas...

A replica of La Negrita. Source: Flickr 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 26th. 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...

Photo from the Union of Jewish Congregations of Latin America and the CaribbeanShalom aleichem. Zach C. Cohen is a student at the American University in Washington, D.C. In 2013, he found himself in San Jose during the solemn Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), so he attended service at the Congregation B’nei Israel near La Sabana, a very nice place where you are warmly greeted with bruchim ha-baim! M...

Peace be with you. The next time you go to Mass at the Mercedes Sur Catholic Church in Heredia, you may notice that instead of the Holy Bible and other books used to prepare for the Eucharist, there is a single tablet computer propped up at reading angle facing the priest. That would be Father Jose Manuel Diaz, a tech-savvy man of the cloth in Costa Rica. According to an article by Ricardo Sile...

Photo: Gabriel Enrique MonteroThe new bishop of the Diocese of San Isidro de El General, Gabriel Enrique Montero, expressed concern over the apathy that Costa Ricans have with politics. Montero, who was appointed on Tuesday by Pope Francis, replacing Guillermo Loría, asked the presidential candidates to "learn the lesson" and govern for the people instead of "for themselves or their friends." ...

The Nosara 2013 Cultural Festival was carried out with a completely full arena and the streets flooded with color, music and people. For the second time, Nosara’s Integral Development Association (ADIN) organized the festival with the help of residents of La Esperanza, Garza, Delicias, Barco Quebrado and Nicoya who joined in for the family activities. This year saw more action than last. The...

Have you heard the one about the visiting tourist enjoying Costa Rican tamales? He says, “They’re really delicious, but the lettuce is little tough!” (Costa Rican tamales are wrapped in green banana tree leaves.) Ho, ho, ho! Tamales are one of the most time-honored Christmas traditions in Costa Rica. Like the rest of Latin America, tamales are a principal part of Christmas dinner. In Costa Rica...

Source: Casa Presidencial Prior to the recent meeting between President Laura Chinchilla and Pope Francis at the Vatican, geopolitical analysts speculated on whether a certain delicate subject would be mentioned. We are talking about the dubious territorial claims over the northern regions of Costa Rica by the Nicaraguan regime of President Daniel Ortega, particularly the desire to “take back”...

The Catedral Metropolitana in downtown San José was packed on Thursday as some 3,000 Catholic faithful gathered to inaugurate the new Archbishop of San José, Monseñor José Rafael Quirós Quirós. Quirós was named the new archbishop of San José by Pope Francisco last month to lead the almost 1.8 million Catholics in the country, becoming the seventh bishop to hold that office, replacing Monseñor H...

Pope Francis. Source: Wikimedia Commons Priests and officials of the Roman Catholic Church in Costa Rica are ready to follow the example set by Pope Francis with regard to transportation, and this means downgrading their automobiles. It's not that ordained Catholic priests in Costa Rica are driving around in vehicles manufactured by Mercedes Benz, BMW or Ferrari; but, the current papacy calls ...

Seventh-day Adventist professionals from throughout the Inter-American Division territory gathered for the church’s 13th annual Adventist-laymen’s Services and Industries (ASI) Convention in San Jose, Costa Rica, Aug. 14-17, 2013. The event brought more than 200 professionals and church leaders to Barcelo San Jose Palacio Hotel to celebrate their passion in sharing Christ through their businesses,...

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Costa Rica was recently recognized by the National Blood Bank for being the most successful organization in obtaining blood donations. During a special ceremony held at the University of Costa Rica in San Jose, Dr. Patricia Contreras praised the work of the church, and said it is the most recognized entity with the most blood donor volunteers in Costa Rica ...

In less than two weeks hundreds of thousands of people will be making their way to Cartago, as Catholic faithfuls embark in the annual pilgrimage to celebrate the apparition of the Virgen de los Angeles. Although the masses will head to the Basilica de los Angeles on August 1 and 2, it was evident that some took the good weather this weekend to make their journey early. “Romeros” could be sp...

Churches throughout Costa Rica are expecting 30,000 people to join in on a march in defense of traditional marriage slated for August. The gathering is meant to counter attack recent legislations allowing same-sex civil unions, abortion, in vitro fertilization and challenges to the ban on the morning-after pill. Organizers are calling for Evangelicals and Catholics to unite against what they...

By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY | Sun Oct 28, 2012 11:45am EDT VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict, closing a gathering of bishops who discussed how to win back lapsed and lukewarm Catholics, on Sunday said the Church had to develop new ways of reaching out to those who had drifted from the faith. Benedict, 85, said a solemn Mass in St Peter's...

By Garba Mohammed and Isaac Abrak KADUNA | Sun Oct 28, 2012 9:48am EDT KADUNA (Reuters) - A suicide bomber drove a jeep packed with explosives into a Catholic church in northern Nigeria on Sunday, killing at least eight people, injuring more than 100 and triggering reprisal attacks that killed at least two more, officials said. The bomber drove r...

Well it's that time of year again....the end of July and as August 2nd quickly approaches, the "Romeria" of pilgrims can be seen walking, riding, cycling and including other ingenuous means of transporation along the Pan American Highway and along other main roads of Costa Rica that lead to the city of Cartago where they will participate in the annual celebration of the "Virgen de Los Angeles"...

Whether churchgoers realize it or not, the trees in their churchyards have religious roots. Those tall, thin-branched trees on the corner of the Episcopal Church Center of Utah, Purple Robe Black Locusts, were probably named after a biblical reference to John the Baptist eating locusts and honey. The crab apple tree just outside the Episcopal Cathedral Church of St. Mark produces a small...

The Evangelical Alliance of Costa Rica presented the Constitutional Court with some three thousand signatures against sex education programs provided by the Government to schools, on the grounds of unconstitutionality. It is the first mass action by the institution in what has been considered a declared war against Christian churches ever since the Ministry of Public Education (MEP) launched th...

A pastor accused of using his position to extort and rob people on behalf of the FARC was arrested with three men in western Colombia Tuesday. Wilson Enrique Gaitan, leader of the pentecoastal church "World Missionary Movement," is accused of heading the criminal gang "Pastors of Costa Rica," which tricked people out of money that was then passed to Colombia's biggest guerrilla group. Gaitai...

One of Latin America’s most notorious drug cartels, Los Charros, have been using Costa Rica as a bridge for drug transportation. In San José, Costa Rica’s capitol city, members of Los Charros collect cocaine that is brought into the country through as of yet unidentified methods and transfer the drugs north. The drug cartel normally runs cocaine from Costa Rica up to Nicaragua. Then, in convoys...