卡库佩奇迹圣母

巴拉圭守护神

卡库佩奇迹圣母是圣母无染原罪敬礼的一个分支，在巴拉圭卡库佩镇受到人们的敬仰。那里有一座圣母圣殿，已成为无数信徒的朝圣之地。她也被称为“小蓝圣母”，是巴拉圭的主保圣人，她的圣殿被视为该国的精神中心。她的瞻礼日是12月8日。

关键事实

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.

传统与历史：一个必要的区别

Caacupé 周围存在两个层面，最好不要混淆。

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.

名称的由来

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.

圣殿的历史

从当地人何塞的雕刻到神龛

据传，当地居民何塞雕刻的小圣像一直由他珍藏，供奉于心。多年后，一场大洪水——形成了伊帕卡拉伊湖——几乎摧毁了该地区的所有村落。方济各会修士与当地居民一起组织祈祷，祈求洪水平静下来。路易斯·德·博拉尼奥斯神父为洪水祈福，洪水随即退去。之后，圣像出现在一个漂浮的木箱中。神父们认出，这正是托巴蒂传教站的圣像，也是何塞雕刻的那尊。从此，人们便称她为卡库佩的奇迹圣母。

谦虚的何塞，瓜拉尼人的形象

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.

大教堂及其认可

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.

虔诚与盛宴

在巴拉圭天主教的敬礼传统中，卡库佩圣母的受欢迎程度最为重要。因此，这一敬礼被尊为巴拉圭共和国的主保圣人和守护圣母，其地位与阿根廷的卢汉圣母或巴西的阿帕雷西达圣母相当。远离故土的巴拉圭人会通过参加弥撒来纪念这一节日，尤其是开幕弥撒和中心弥撒。

巴拉圭侨民将对小蓝圣母的敬仰带到了多个国家。在西班牙，马拉加巴拉圭人协会向圣胡安·包蒂斯塔教堂捐赠了一尊复制品，并于2016年12月4日举行了安放仪式；此前，在2012年1月，另一尊复制品已在贝莱斯-马拉加的圣胡安·包蒂斯塔教区举行了安放仪式。在阿根廷，巴拉圭移民在贝拉萨特吉建立了卡库佩圣母教区。

卡库佩的精神讯息

对卡库佩奇迹圣母的敬礼，至今仍以其朴素的方式与我们对话：

🪵 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.

向卡库佩圣母祈祷

A sober Marian prayer, gathered in our section of 圣母玛利亚祈祷文.