Spanish project intended to reenact Franciscan Pathway in Paraguay

A Spanish project is putting a longstanding dream in the crosshairs: the reenactment of the Franciscan Pathway in Paraguay during the Evangelization Process of the late 16th and early 17th centuries whose legacy can now be rekindled with the help of tourism.

“The project consists of presenting a world other than that of the Jesuits. And I’m talking about the Franciscans, whose features tie them up to the Guarani people,” said Jose Antonio Ferreiro, a consulting officer for the Spanish International Cooperation Agency (AECI).

Franciscan missionaries played a major role in bringing the gospel to that South American nation, especially among the Guarani population –one of the local ethnic groups. Unlike Jesuits, the Franciscan basked in the acceptance of the local population.

“There were Jesuit missions in other neighboring countries, but the fact of the matter is that in Paraguay, Franciscans left a cultural footprint of their own that’s still very much alive. The churches they left behind are still standing, and that’s different in many ways to what the Jesuits did here. Theirs are all in a shambles now,” Mr. Ferreiro indicated.

Over the past couple of weeks, the AECI consulting expert –in charge of supervising the project bankrolled by the Galicia Board- toured different towns and cities founded by Franciscan congregations in eastern Paraguay.

“Many Franciscan churches are still operational,” Mr. Ferreiro said as he explained that his efforts will be focused on advertising the Franciscan Pathway that dots over two dozen villages scattered in the departments of Central, Cordillera, Caazapa, Paraguari, Canindeyu, among others.

The project –Mr. Ferreiro went on to say- is equally intended to highlight different elements of the Guarani culture, its cuisine traditions, medicinal herbs and tongue, taking into account that Paraguay is the world’s only country with an aboriginal tongue as its official language.