Diocesan Museum of San Ignacio Guazú — Attraction in San Ignacio Guazú

The Diocesan Museum of Jesuit-Guaraní Art in San Ignacio Guazú is a hidden jewel of Paraguay’s Jesuit Route. While the mission ruins scattered across the south stand as skeletal remains of churches, cloisters, and plazas, this museum gives them flesh and soul. The statues, carvings, and sacred art created by Guaraní artisans under Jesuit guidance make the era come alive in a way that stone walls alone cannot.

The collection is arranged in four themed rooms — Creation, Redemption, Christ in the Church, and The Society of Jesus. Inside, you’ll find dozens of wooden statues and altarpieces, painted in vivid polychrome and infused with both European and indigenous artistry. What’s most striking is that many of the figures — saints, angels, and Christ himself — bear proportions that are slightly “off” by classical standards: elongated limbs, oversized heads, or simplified anatomy. Far from being flaws, these traits reflect the learning curve and creative adaptation of the Guaraní sculptors, who brought their own worldview and hands to the work.

The result is deeply moving: angels with Guaraní faces, saints with local features, and an unmistakable authenticity that sets this art apart from European models. You sense not just the religious intent but also the cultural blending and human effort behind each piece.

Taken together with the ruins of Trinidad, Tavarangue, and other reductions, these artifacts complete the picture: the stones show the scale and ambition of the Jesuit missions, but the statues here show their heart and humanity.

Make it a must-visit — perhaps the most evocative stop on the Jesuit Route if you want to feel the missions not only as history but...

el museo está en una de las pocas estructuras que quedan en pie de la misión original de San Ignacio, una de las famosas reducciones jesuitas inmortalizadas en nuestra memoria por el famoso filme de "La Misión". La iglesia se derrumbó hace unos años, pero pudieron rescatar varias de sus más importantes piezas, que vas a poder ver en este museo. las esculturas están echas de madera, de una Sola pieza. Son obras de arte elaboradas ya en América Latina, por las menos de grandes artistas, alumnos de escultores europeos. hay que mirar con detenimiento no solo la finura de cada pieza, sino el simbolismo que cada pieza tiene. Este museo es una joya imperdible de visitar....

Maravilloso lugar! Siguiendo la historia de los jesuitas en el virreinato del rio de la plata y particularmente en la provincia del Paraguay encontramos las huellas perdurables en el tiempo de esta primera mision jesuita a pedido del cacique Arapysandu al gobernador Hernan Arias de Saavedra a cambio de la paz en los territorios mas alla del rio Tebicuary hace mas...