Bunda Maria Mukjizat dari Caacupé

Pelindung Paraguay

Bunda Maria Mukjizat dari Caacupé adalah varian dari devosi Maria kepada Dikandung Tanpa Noda, yang dihormati di kota Caacupé, Paraguay, tempat berdirinya sebuah basilika yang telah menjadi tempat ziarah bagi banyak umat beriman. Juga dikenal sebagai "Perawan Biru Kecil", ia adalah Pelindung Paraguay, dan tempat ziarahnya dianggap sebagai ibu kota spiritual negara tersebut. Pesta peringatannya dirayakan pada tanggal 8 Desember.

Fakta-fakta penting

Central message: in a small carving saved by the promise of a grateful native, the Guaraní people recognize the Tupãsy, the Mother of God, who protects them from every danger and leads them to her Son.

Tradisi dan sejarah: perbedaan yang diperlukan

Di sekitar Caacupé terdapat dua lapisan yang berdampingan, dan sebaiknya tidak sampai membingungkan keduanya.

Tradition tells that in the town of Tobatí there lived a Guaraní sculptor named José, a convert of the Franciscan mission. Returning one day from the forests of the Ytú valley, he came upon Mbayá 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 Mbayá passed by without noticing him, and José, grateful, fulfilled his vow: from the trunk came two carvings, the larger one for the church of Tobatí and the smaller one for his personal devotion. Tradition adds that at the place of the promise water sprang up that helped the Guaraní survive the heat. These are venerable accounts of popular piety in which —as the source itself notes— there are no apparitions or visions, but two «miracles of salvation»: from the enemies and from the flood.

The documented history rests on preserved archives. A document of 1769 from the National Archive states that Father Roque Melgarejo, missionary of the doctrine of Tobatí, donated to the inhabitants of Caacupé 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 Caacupé. The devotion, real and verifiable, does not depend on the legendary details, but on the continuous growth of the cult.

Asal usul nama

The name «Caacupé» comes from the Guaraní expression ka’a kupé, which means «behind the herb» or «behind the forest of herb.» Because it has the largest shrine in the country, Caacupé is said to be the spiritual capital of Paraguay.

Sejarah tempat suci tersebut

Dari ukiran José asli hingga kuil tersebut

Menurut tradisi, patung yang lebih kecil yang diukir oleh penduduk asli José tetap berada dalam kepemilikannya untuk pemujaannya. Bertahun-tahun kemudian, banjir besar—yang membentuk Danau Ypacaraí—mengancam akan menghancurkan permukiman di wilayah tersebut. Para biarawan Fransiskan, bersama dengan penduduk setempat, mengadakan doa memohon agar air mereda, yang diberkati oleh Pastor Luis de Bolaños, dan air tersebut surut hingga batasnya. Kemudian patung itu muncul mengambang di dalam kotak kayu, yang diidentifikasi oleh para imam sebagai patung dari misi Tobatí, patung yang sama yang diukir oleh José. Sejak saat itu orang-orang menyebutnya Perawan Mukjizat Caacupé.

José yang rendah hati, sosok masyarakat Guarani

The humble and «unknown» José —of whom only the given name is preserved, without surnames or nicknames— represents each and every one of the Guaraní Christians. The account speaks of his pilgrimages, of the mortal dangers he endured, and of his devotion to the Immaculate, the Tupãsy (Mother of God), who came to take the place of the mythical Ñandesy of their ancestors. Thus the smaller image, Our Lady of Miracles of Caacupé, «became greater through the abundance of her gifts and of her faithful.» Of the large carving, destined for Tobatí, it is supposed that it was plundered by the Mbayá.

Basilika dan pengakuannya

The Basilica of Caacupé 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 Félix Granda Art Workshops, and it is still used today in her feasts. During his visit to Paraguay, Pope Francis raised the shrine to the rank of minor basilica; the corresponding decree was read at the end of Mass on 11 July 2015, making it the second church in the country with that status.

Ibadah dan perjamuan

Popularitas Bunda Maria dari Caacupé adalah yang terpenting dalam tradisi devosi Katolik Paraguay. Karena alasan ini, devosi ini dikuduskan sebagai Pelindung dan Bunda Pelindung Republik Paraguay, sebuah gelar yang setara dengan Bunda Maria dari Luján di Argentina atau Bunda Maria Aparecida di Brasil. Warga Paraguay yang tinggal jauh dari tanah air mereka memperingati perayaan ini dengan mengikuti Misa, terutama Misa pembuka dan Misa utama.

Diaspora Paraguay telah membawa devosi kepada Bunda Maria Biru Kecil ke beberapa negara. Di Spanyol, Asosiasi Warga Paraguay di Málaga menyumbangkan replika ke gereja San Juan Bautista, yang diresmikan pada 4 Desember 2016; sebelumnya, pada Januari 2012, replika lainnya telah diresmikan di paroki San Juan Bautista di Vélez-Málaga. Di Argentina, imigran Paraguay mendirikan paroki Bunda Maria Caacupé di Berazategui.

Pesan spiritual Caacupé

Devosi kepada Bunda Maria Mukjizat dari Caacupé masih berbicara kepada kita hari ini dengan kesederhanaannya:

🪵 Mary draws near to the little ones. She did not come upon a throne, but in a carving saved by the promise of a grateful native.
🙏 Faithfulness to a promise opens the way to grace. José fulfilled his vow, and from that wood a shrine was born.
🇵🇾 Mary is Mother of a whole people. In the Tupãsy, the Guaraní heart recognizes the Mother of God.
✝️ Mary always leads to her Son. As the Immaculate, she teaches us to live pure of heart and turned toward God.

Doa kepada Bunda Maria dari Caacupé

A sober Marian prayer, gathered in our section of Doa-doa Maria.