Caacupé (; Guarani: ''Ka'akupe'', literally: "Behind the Mount") is a city and district in

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

. It is the capital of the

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

Cordillera A cordillera is an extensive chain and/or network system of mountain ranges, such as those in the west coast of the Americas. The term is borrowed from Spanish, where the word comes from , a diminutive of ('rope'). The term is most commonly us ...

. The town was founded in 1770 by Carlos Murphy, a grenadier in the service of King

Charles III of Spain it, Carlo Sebastiano di Borbone e Farnese , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Philip V of Spain , mother = Elisabeth Farnese , birth_date = 20 January 1716 , birth_place = Royal Alcazar of Madrid, Spain , death_d ...

, although a first settlement existed here from the 17th century.''"Places of Peace and Power – Caacupé"'' – SacredSites.com
/ref> The city is the seat of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Caacupé The Roman Catholic Diocese of Caacupé ( la, Dioecesis Caacupensis) is a Latin rite suffragan diocese in the Ecclesiastical province of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Asunción, Archdiocese of Asunción, which covers all and only Paraguay. Its cat ...

. Caacupé is best known as the site of the , Saint Patron of Paraguay. The

Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Miracles, Caacupé The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Miracles ( es, Catedral Basílica Nuestra Señora de los Milagros), also Caacupé Cathedral, is the religious building that functions as the Catholic cathedral of the city of Caacupé, Paraguay, and also as th ...

stands in the centre of the town. A major religious festival is held annually on 8 December in honour of the statuette "Our Lady of the Miracles". This statuette, carved in the 16th century by a devout convert, was miraculously saved from a great flood, and numerous miracles are ascribed to it. During the rest of the year Caacupé is a quiet provincial town. It has a park with amusements.

Photogallery

Image:Caacupe3.jpg, Basilica of Caácupe Image:Caacupe4.jpg, Inside view of the basilica. Image:Caacupe5.jpg, Pilgrims File:Basílica de Caacupé.jpg, Aerial Panoramic view of Basílica de Caacupé

References

External list

Official website
Caacupé District Populated places established in 1770 1770 establishments in the Spanish Empire {{Paraguay-geo-stub