In early February, the Catholic Church in Nosara was torn down due to damage from the September 5 earthquake. Because the structure was so weak, it took only about an hour for the building to be leveled, according to Father Juan Carlos Galindo Chavez.
Galindo said the engineer who evaluated the building after the earthquake concluded that the building had to be demolished because of damage to the foundation and internal structure, so eight days after the earthquake, the municipality gave the order to close the church.
In less than two weeks, parishioners pulled together, one donating metal roofing, another bringing wood beams and yet another fans, and others pitched in with labor to build a provisional open-air rancho where they could continue to hold mass until a new church can be built.
That won’t be any time soon, as Galindo assured that the church doesn’t have funds to build. He estimated that they will need at least 300 million colones ($600,000) to build a church with a capacity of about 1000 to accommodate the approximately 800 parishioners with room to grow.
To start raising the funds, a family faith event was organized on March 2, and Galindo said they will also be visiting other parishes to look for donations. “We as good Catholics believe that this is also a work of God,” he commented.
Anyone wishing to collaborate can deposit donations in an account set up with Banco de Costa Rica (BCR bank), account number 001-0303830-0, cuenta cliente (routing number) 15201001030383001.
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