🏛️ Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis: San Ignacio Mini, Santa Ana, Nuestra Señora de Loreto and Santa Maria Mayor (Argentina), Ruins of Sao Miguel das Missoes (Brazil)
UNESCO World Heritage Site spanning Argentina and Brazil
Santa María la Mayor is one of the five Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Argentina.
📌 Fast Facts
- Five Jesuit mission sites established in the 17th and 18th centuries across Argentina and Brazil
- Founded to evangelize and protect the indigenous Guarani people from enslavement
- Missions were abandoned following the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767
- Designated UNESCO World Heritage Site in recognition of their cultural and historical significance
The Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis comprise the remains of five religious and community settlements established in present-day Argentina and Brazil during the colonial period. Founded as part of a broader Jesuit effort to evangelize and shield the indigenous Guarani population from exploitation, these missions developed into self-sufficient, planned communities. The five sites—San Ignacio Miní, Santa Ana, Nuestra Señora de Loreto, and Santa María la Mayor in Argentina, along with the ruins of ...