Case file · Apparition / miracle
Virgin of Caacupé
Paraguay's national shrine honours a statue of the Virgin that, tradition says, was carved by a Guaraní convert, José, in thanks for being hidden from enemies behind a tree; the town grew around it from 1770.
1770 CE · -25.39, -57.14 · status: legend
The account
Another legend says the image was saved from a flood of Lake Ypacaraí. Every 8 December, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims walk to the basilica of Caacupé, the largest religious gathering in Paraguay.
The sceptical view
The carving story is a later tradition without documents.