Travel Guide Caacupé

The spiritual capital of Paraguay. Here is the sanctuary of the Virgin of Caacupé, the Virgencita azul ("little blue Virgin") as she is affectionately called, the most venerated icon in the country. Legend has it that during the colonial period, the Indian José, converted to Christianity by the Franciscan friars, went to fetch wood from the forest. But he saw the warriors of an enemy (unconverted) tribe. José hid as best he could behind a tree and promised the Virgin Mary that if she saved his life, he would carve a sculpture in her honor with this saving tree. The enemy tribe passed by without seeing him. So Jose made good on his promise. But he carved two sculptures. One remained in the Franciscan mission of Tobatí, where José was from, and the other in the small chapel of a village that took the name of ka'aguy kupe ("behind the wood"), which became Caacupé. It was from there that the popular fervour around Our Lady of Miracles began. Caacupé had the honour of receiving Pope Francis in July 2015. Mass was celebrated in front of the Basilica, in front of hundreds of thousands of faithful from Paraguay, but also from several South American countries.