San Ignacio’s Jesuit museum is housed in one of Paraguay’s oldest remaining Jesuit constructions. Carved into stone out front is a list of the twenty-six Jesuits who served in the missions of Paraguay and died as martyrs. The building, which used to be home to the mission’s Jesuit priests, now contains a collection of several large sculptures organized by theme throughout four rooms. Statues are beautifully carved with a sense of movement in robes and expressive faces. Gold leaf still shines off several carvings and extraordinary attention has been paid to the most minute details such as the textures mimicking brocade and lace cutouts along the edges of robes.
The first room, dedicated to the Creation, includes a large pulpit, a sculpture of a child being lead by an angel, and a sculpture of St. Michael fighting with the devil. The second room is dedicated to the Redemption with sculptures featuring the suffering and resurrection of Jesus along with the Virgin Mary. In the third room the history of Christ in the church is depicted with figures of various saints including statues of St. Peter and St. Paul. The fourth room is dedicated to the Jesuit order with several large and evocative statues of Jesuit saints including St. Ignatius, founder of the Jesuit order. This room also has a photograph of the mission’s original church which unfortunately fell into a state of disrepair and was demolished in 1920. Though the majority of the church’s decorative elements were taken abroad by private collectors, the sculptures which now adorn the museum were safeguarded by members of the community until the museum opened in 1978. Tel: 082 232 223, Iturbe 870 almost at Marcial de Lorenzana (down the street from the church), Mon-Fri 2pm-5:30pm, Sat-Sun 8am-11am and 2pm-2:30pm, Entry fee: Gs.10,000
Museo Diocesano de San Ignacio Guasu Paraguay Photo Gallery
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