{"id":5815,"date":"2026-06-23T09:01:27","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T09:01:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rezaelrosario.org\/our-lady-of-caacupe"},"modified":"2026-06-23T09:01:27","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T09:01:27","slug":"our-lady-of-caacupe","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/rezaelrosario.org\/de\/our-lady-of-caacupe","title":{"rendered":"Our Lady of Miracles of Caacup\u00e9"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"rr-om\">\n<style>\n.rr-om{max-width:880px;margin:0 auto;font-family:Inter,system-ui,sans-serif;color:#1E2A36}\n.rr-om h1{font-family:Merriweather,Georgia,serif;color:#1F4E79;text-align:center;font-size:2.1rem;margin:.4rem 0 .2rem}\n.rr-om .rr-sub{text-align:center;color:#8A6D1D;font-family:Merriweather,Georgia,serif;font-style:italic;font-size:1.15rem;margin:0 0 1.2rem}\n.rr-om .rr-lead{color:#344054;line-height:1.75;max-width:720px;margin:0 auto 1.2rem}\n.rr-om h2{font-family:Merriweather,Georgia,serif;color:#1F4E79;font-size:1.45rem;border-bottom:2px solid #C9A227;padding-bottom:.35rem;margin:2.2rem 0 .9rem}\n.rr-om h3{font-family:Merriweather,Georgia,serif;color:#1F4E79;font-size:1.1rem;margin:1.4rem 0 .5rem}\n.rr-om p{color:#344054;line-height:1.75}\n.rr-om .rr-card{background:#fff;border:1px solid #E6E1D8;border-radius:14px;box-shadow:0 4px 14px rgba(30,42,54,.06);padding:1.2rem 1.4rem;margin:0 0 1rem}\n.rr-om .rr-datos{display:grid;grid-template-columns:repeat(auto-fit,minmax(240px,1fr));gap:10px;margin:.6rem 0}\n.rr-om .rr-dato{background:#F8F5EF;border:1px solid #E6E1D8;border-radius:10px;padding:.6rem .9rem;font-size:.95rem}\n.rr-om .rr-dato b{color:#1F4E79}\n.rr-om .rr-cita{background:#F8F5EF;border-left:3px solid #C9A227;padding:.8rem 1.1rem;border-radius:0 10px 10px 0;margin:1rem 0;font-family:Merriweather,Georgia,serif;font-style:italic;color:#41506b}\n.rr-om .rr-cita .rr-quien{display:block;font-family:Inter,sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-size:.8rem;color:#8A6D1D;margin-top:.4rem;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:.04em}\n.rr-om .rr-nota{background:#F3E7BD66;border:1px solid #E6D9A8;border-radius:10px;padding:.6rem .9rem;color:#6B5512;font-size:.92rem;margin:.4rem 0 .9rem}\n.rr-om .rr-btns{display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;gap:10px;justify-content:center;margin:1.6rem 0}\n.rr-om .rr-btn{background:#1F4E79;color:#fff;border-radius:999px;padding:.6rem 1.2rem;text-decoration:none;font-weight:600;font-size:.92rem}\n.rr-om .rr-btn:hover{background:#183B5C;color:#F3E7BD}\n.rr-om .rr-flor{background:linear-gradient(135deg,#1F4E79,#183B5C);border-radius:16px;padding:1.6rem 1.4rem;color:#fff;margin:2rem 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid #C9A22755}\n.rr-om .rr-flor h3{color:#F3E7BD;margin-top:0}\n.rr-om .rr-flor p{color:#E8EDF3}\n.rr-om .rr-flor a{display:inline-block;background:#C9A227;color:#1E2A36;border-radius:999px;padding:.7rem 1.5rem;text-decoration:none;font-weight:700;margin-top:.6rem}\n.rr-om .rr-fuentes{font-size:.88rem;color:#667085;border-top:1px solid #E6E1D8;padding-top:1rem;margin-top:2rem}\n@media(max-width:560px){.rr-om h1{font-size:1.7rem}}\n<\/style>\n\n<h1>Our Lady of Miracles of Caacup\u00e9<\/h1>\n<p class=\"rr-sub\">Patroness of Paraguay<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"rr-lead\">Our Lady of Miracles of Caacup\u00e9 is a variant of the Marian devotion to the Immaculate Conception, venerated in the Paraguayan town of Caacup\u00e9, where there rises a basilica that has become a place of pilgrimage for countless believers. Also known as the \u00abLittle Blue Virgin\u00bb (Virgencita Azul), she is the Patroness of Paraguay, and her shrine is regarded as the spiritual capital of the country. Her feast is celebrated on 8 December.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Key facts<\/h2>\n<div class=\"rr-datos\">\n<div class=\"rr-dato\"><b>Feast:<\/b> 8 December<\/div>\n<div class=\"rr-dato\"><b>Place:<\/b> Caacup\u00e9 (Paraguay)<\/div>\n<div class=\"rr-dato\"><b>Devotion:<\/b> Immaculate Conception \u00b7 of Miracles<\/div>\n<div class=\"rr-dato\"><b>Church:<\/b> Basilica of Caacup\u00e9, inaugurated on 8 December 1765<\/div>\n<div class=\"rr-dato\"><b>Patronage:<\/b> Patroness of Paraguay<\/div>\n<div class=\"rr-dato\"><b>Minor basilica:<\/b> raised by Pope Francis (11 July 2015)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Central message:<\/strong> in a small carving saved by the promise of a grateful native, the Guaran\u00ed people recognize the Tup\u00e3sy, the Mother of God, who protects them from every danger and leads them to her Son.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Tradition and history: a necessary distinction<\/h2>\n<p>Around Caacup\u00e9 two levels coexist that it is well not to confuse.<\/p>\n<p class=\"rr-nota\"><strong>Tradition<\/strong> tells that in the town of Tobat\u00ed there lived a Guaran\u00ed sculptor named Jos\u00e9, a convert of the Franciscan mission. Returning one day from the forests of the Yt\u00fa valley, he came upon Mbay\u00e1 natives, feared for their hostility; he ran to hide behind a thick tree trunk and promised that, if he came out alive, he would carve from that wood an image of the Virgin. The Mbay\u00e1 passed by without noticing him, and Jos\u00e9, grateful, fulfilled his vow: from the trunk came two carvings, the larger one for the church of Tobat\u00ed and the smaller one for his personal devotion. Tradition adds that at the place of the promise water sprang up that helped the Guaran\u00ed survive the heat. These are venerable accounts of popular piety in which \u2014as the source itself notes\u2014 there are no apparitions or visions, but two \u00abmiracles of salvation\u00bb: from the enemies and from the flood.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>documented history<\/strong> rests on preserved archives. A document of 1769 from the National Archive states that Father Roque Melgarejo, missionary of the doctrine of Tobat\u00ed, donated to the inhabitants of Caacup\u00e9 an image of the Immaculate Conception and a plot of land on which to build a church in her honour. The 4th of April 1770 is taken as the reference for the founding of the town, already known then as the Valley of Caacup\u00e9. The devotion, real and verifiable, does not depend on the legendary details, but on the continuous growth of the cult.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Origin of the name<\/h2>\n<p>The name \u00abCaacup\u00e9\u00bb comes from the Guaran\u00ed expression <em>ka&#8217;a kup\u00e9<\/em>, which means \u00abbehind the herb\u00bb or \u00abbehind the forest of herb.\u00bb Because it has the largest shrine in the country, Caacup\u00e9 is said to be the spiritual capital of Paraguay.<\/p>\n\n<h2>History of the shrine<\/h2>\n\n<h3>From the native Jos\u00e9&#8217;s carving to the shrine<\/h3>\n<p>According to tradition, the smaller image carved by the native Jos\u00e9 remained in his possession for his devotion. Years later, a great flood \u2014the one that formed Lake Ypacara\u00ed\u2014 threatened to destroy the settlements of the region. The Franciscan friars, together with the inhabitants, organized rogations asking for the calming of the waters, which Father Luis de Bola\u00f1os blessed, and these receded to their limits. Then the image appeared floating in a wooden box, which the priests identified as the one from the mission of Tobat\u00ed, the very one that Jos\u00e9 had carved. From that time the people called her the Virgin of Miracles of Caacup\u00e9.<\/p>\n\n<h3>The humble Jos\u00e9, figure of the Guaran\u00ed people<\/h3>\n<p>The humble and \u00abunknown\u00bb Jos\u00e9 \u2014of whom only the given name is preserved, without surnames or nicknames\u2014 represents each and every one of the Guaran\u00ed Christians. The account speaks of his pilgrimages, of the mortal dangers he endured, and of his devotion to the Immaculate, the <em>Tup\u00e3sy<\/em> (Mother of God), who came to take the place of the mythical \u00d1andesy of their ancestors. Thus the smaller image, Our Lady of Miracles of Caacup\u00e9, \u00abbecame greater through the abundance of her gifts and of her faithful.\u00bb Of the large carving, destined for Tobat\u00ed, it is supposed that it was plundered by the Mbay\u00e1.<\/p>\n\n<h3>The basilica and its recognition<\/h3>\n<p>The Basilica of Caacup\u00e9 was inaugurated on 8 December 1765. In 1912 a processional litter of chiseled and embossed silver was made for the image, the work of the F\u00e9lix Granda Art Workshops, and it is still used today in her feasts. During his visit to Paraguay, Pope <strong>Francis<\/strong> raised the shrine to the rank of minor basilica; the corresponding decree was read at the end of Mass on <strong>11 July 2015<\/strong>, making it the second church in the country with that status.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Devotion and feast<\/h2>\n<p>The popularity of the Virgin of Caacup\u00e9 is the most important within the Paraguayan Catholic devotional tradition. For this reason, this devotion is consecrated as Patroness and Protecting Lady of the Republic of Paraguay, a title equivalent to that of the Virgin of Luj\u00e1n in Argentina or Our Lady Aparecida in Brazil. Paraguayans who live far from their homeland remember the feast by taking part in the Mass, especially the opening Mass and the central one.<\/p>\n<p>The Paraguayan diaspora has carried the devotion to the Little Blue Virgin to several countries. In Spain, the Association of Paraguayans in M\u00e1laga donated a replica to the church of San Juan Bautista, enthroned on 4 December 2016; earlier, in January 2012, another had been enthroned in the parish of San Juan Bautista in V\u00e9lez-M\u00e1laga. In Argentina, Paraguayan immigrants founded the parish of the Virgin of Caacup\u00e9 in Berazategui.<\/p>\n\n<h2>The spiritual message of Caacup\u00e9<\/h2>\n<p>Devotion to Our Lady of Miracles of Caacup\u00e9 still speaks to us today with simplicity:<\/p>\n<p>\ud83e\udeb5 <strong>Mary draws near to the little ones.<\/strong> She did not come upon a throne, but in a carving saved by the promise of a grateful native.<br>\n\ud83d\ude4f <strong>Faithfulness to a promise opens the way to grace.<\/strong> Jos\u00e9 fulfilled his vow, and from that wood a shrine was born.<br>\n\ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddfe <strong>Mary is Mother of a whole people.<\/strong> In the Tup\u00e3sy, the Guaran\u00ed heart recognizes the Mother of God.<br>\n\u271d\ufe0f <strong>Mary always leads to her Son.<\/strong> As the Immaculate, she teaches us to live pure of heart and turned toward God.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Prayer to Our Lady of Caacup\u00e9<\/h2>\n<div class=\"rr-card\">\n<p>Our Lady of Miracles of Caacup\u00e9,<br>\nImmaculate Mother of the Guaran\u00ed people:<br>\nlook with kindness upon all of us who come to you,<br>\nand keep us, as you kept that humble Jos\u00e9,<br>\nfrom every danger of body and of soul.<br>\nSustain the faith of Paraguay and of all America,<br>\nand lead us always to the encounter with your Son Jesus.<br>\nAmen.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"rr-nota\">A sober Marian prayer, gathered in our section of <a href=\"\/en\/marian-prayers\/\">Marian prayers<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"rr-flor\">\n<h3>\ud83c\udf39 A flower for the Virgin<\/h3>\n<p>Offer a simple prayer to Our Lady of Caacup\u00e9. Pray a Hail Mary for Paraguay and for all America.<\/p>\n<a href=\"\/en\/marian-prayers\/\">Pray a Hail Mary<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"rr-btns\">\n<a class=\"rr-btn\" href=\"\/en\/marian-prayers\/\">\ud83d\ude4f Marian prayers<\/a>\n<a class=\"rr-btn\" href=\"\/en\/marian-calendar\/\">\ud83d\udcc5 Marian calendar<\/a>\n<a class=\"rr-btn\" href=\"\/en\/how-to-pray-the-rosary\/\">\ud83d\udcff Pray the Rosary<\/a>\n<a class=\"rr-btn\" href=\"\/en\/pray-the-rosary\/\">\ud83c\udf39 More devotions<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"rr-fuentes\">\n<strong>Sources:<\/strong> Spanish Wikipedia, \u00abVirgen de Caacup\u00e9\u00bb (origin of the name in Guaran\u00ed, the tradition of the native Jos\u00e9 and the carving saved from the Mbay\u00e1, the image that appeared after the flood that formed Lake Ypacara\u00ed, the 1769 document of the National Archive on the donation by Father Roque Melgarejo, the founding of the town in 1770, the inauguration of the basilica on 8 December 1765, the silver processional litter of 1912 and the elevation to minor basilica by Pope Francis on 11 July 2015) \u00b7 Margarita Dur\u00e1n Estrag\u00f3 and others, <em>Historia de la Iglesia en el Paraguay<\/em> (Ed. Tiempo de Historia, Asunci\u00f3n, 2014, p. 186). The distinction between the tradition of Guaran\u00ed popular piety and the documented history of the shrine follows what is noted by the source itself, which warns that in the account \u00abthere are no apparitions or visions,\u00bb but two miracles of salvation.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our Lady of Miracles of Caacup\u00e9 Patroness of Paraguay Our Lady of Miracles of Caacup\u00e9 is a variant of the Marian devotion to the Immaculate Conception, venerated in the Paraguayan town of Caacup\u00e9, where there rises a basilica that has become a place of pilgrimage for countless believers. Also known as the \u00abLittle Blue Virgin\u00bb [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"Our Lady of Miracles of Caacup\u00e9 - Reza el Rosario","description":"Our Lady of Miracles of Caacup\u00e9 Patroness of Paraguay Our Lady of Miracles of Caacup\u00e9 is a variant of the Marian devotion to the Immaculate Conception, venerate"},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5815","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rezaelrosario.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rezaelrosario.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rezaelrosario.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rezaelrosario.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5815"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rezaelrosario.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5815\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rezaelrosario.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}