Anecdotes about the Virgin Mary

"The Virgin of Caacupé: the statue hidden behind the tree"

Caacupé (Paraguay) (17th century)

In the city of Caacupé, the "spiritual capital of Paraguay," Our Lady of Miracles, the country's patron saint, is venerated. Every December 8th, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims walk to her basilica from all corners of the nation, in one of the largest displays of faith in South America.

Pious tradition, passed down since colonial times, tells of an indigenous man, already a Christian, known in popular memory as José, who was being pursued. While fleeing, he hid behind a tree, invoking the Virgin Mary and promising that if she saved him, he would carve her image from that wood. Once the danger had passed, he fulfilled his promise and carved a Marian image from that wood.

As with so many American devotions, it is important to distinguish between the origin story, which belongs to a tradition collected later, and the documented ecclesiastical events. The indigenous person's name and the specific details of the escape belong to popular memory; there is no contemporary documentation that guarantees them with historical accuracy.

What is well documented is the deep-rooted devotion, the growth of the sanctuary into the current basilica, the canonical coronation of the image, and the national celebration on December 8th, when all of Paraguay makes a pilgrimage to Caacupé. The favors and miracles attributed to the image are known primarily through votive offerings and testimonies of gratitude, rather than through a systematic, critical record.