Asunción, Agencia IP.- The mission of San Cosme and San Damián, built in the 18th century by Jesuits in the Itapúa department, seeks to be included on the UNESCO World Heritage list. It aims to keep alive a history that blends Indigenous beliefs with the scientific work of religious astronomer Buenaventura Suárez. Named in honor […]
Asunción, Agencia IP.- The mission of San Cosme and San Damián, built in the 18th century by Jesuits in the Itapúa department, seeks to be included on the UNESCO World Heritage list. It aims to keep alive a history that blends Indigenous beliefs with the scientific work of religious astronomer Buenaventura Suárez.
Named in honor of Cosme and Damián, two brothers and doctors canonized as saints, this mission, still surrounded by native houses and located along the Paraná River, neighbors the missions of Santísima Trinidad del Paraná and Jesús de Tavarangüé, both declared World Heritage Sites in 1993. Its history dates back to 1632 when it was first established in the Tapé mountains (Brazil), but it was in 1760 that it settled in what is now the town of San Cosme and San Damián.
«San Cosme is one of the 30 towns founded by the Society of Jesus, where Jesuit priests worked with the Guaraní over 300 years ago,» Lucas Vázquez, one of the site’s guides, told EFE, referring to settlements founded in what is now Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay, collectively known as the «Thirty Towns.»
The Minister of the National Tourism Secretariat (Senatur) of Paraguay, Angie Duarte, told EFE that they hope to continue promoting this «unique Jesuit legacy, which is a source of pride for all Paraguayans,» with the inclusion of San Cosme and San Damián in the UNESCO list. «We are working with the Senatur team, in collaboration with other institutions, to achieve this nomination,» she said.
Leer la nota completa en Agencia de Información
