Paraguay

Torres de Vera was still governing the province when S. Francis Solanus, a Spanish Franciscan missionary, made his celebrated journey through the Chaco to Paraguay, coming from Peru. In the course of that expedition he preached to the natives in their own tongues and converted thousands and thousands of them (1588-89). When Torres de Vera resigned his post, Hernando Arias de Saavedra, a native of Asunción, was elected governor, ruling until 1593, when Diego Valdes de Banda was appointed in his stead. Upon the death of the latter, Hernandarias, as he is also known, again took command in 1601. It was during this second administration of Arias (1601-09) that the Jesuits obtained official recognition for the first time in Paraguay, by virtue of an order from Philip III (1608), approving the plan submitted by Governor Arias for the establishment of missions by the disciples of Loyola. This marked the beginning of the flourishing period of the Church in Paraguay, as well as that of the welfare and advancement of the natives, just as the expulsion of the Jesuit Fathers in 1767, by order of Charles III, marked the decadence of the Faith among the Indians of the Chaco and their falling back into their former state of barbarism.

Paraguay was then nominally under the jurisdiction of the Viceroy of Peru, but in 1776 the Viceroyalty of La Plata was created, including Paraguay.

Finally, when in 1811 Paraguay declared its independence of Spain, the foundations of the Church were firmly established, as was the case in the other Latin-American countries.

After its emancipation, the country was ruled, more or less despotically, by José Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia, as dictator (1811-40); Carlos Antonio Lopez (1841-62); Marshal Francisco Solano Lopez, a son of the former, during whose rule (1862-70) was fought one of the bloodiest wars in the history of South America, between Paraguay on one side, and Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay on the other. The results of this struggle, provoked by the political ambitions of Lopez, were most disastrous for Paraguay. It began on 24 Nov., 1864, and lasted until 1 March, 1870, on which date the Paraguayan president was killed in the battle of Cerro Cora. At the close of the war, Paraguay was in a state of desolation, with its population decimated, its agriculture destroyed, and its treasury completely exhausted. After the peace was signed, a constitution was promulgated (1870), under whose shadow the republic has recuperated within the comparatively short term of forty years, having now entered upon an era of prosperity, peace, and stability of government.

Under the constitution in force, promulgated 25 Nov., 1870, the religion of the nation is the Roman Catholic, and the chief prelate must be a Paraguayan. Congress, however, has no power to forbid the free exercise of any other religion within the territory of the Republic (article 3).

By authority of paragraph 7, article 2, of the constitution, the president exercises the rights of national patronage vested in the republic, and nominates the bishop of the diocese, said nomination to be made upon presentation of three names by the legislative senate, with the advice and consent of the ecclesiastical senate or, in default thereof, of the national clergy assembled. It is further provided by the constitution (par. 8, art. 102) that the president may grant or refuse, with the advice of congress, the acceptance of the decrees of the councils and of the Bulls, Briefs, or Rescripts of the Supreme Pontiff.

The Minister of Justice, Worship, and Public Instruction is charged with the inspection of all branches of Divine worship in so far as the national patronage over the Church is concerned; it is also his duty to negotiate with the Apostolic Delegates in behalf of the executive. The fiscal budget assigns the sum of $2,259 for the salaries of the bishop, vicar-general, and secretary of the diocese.

The Diocese of Paraguay (Paraguayensis) was created under a Bull issued by Paul III on 1 July, 1547, eleven years after the foundation of Asunción by Juan de Ayolas, 15 Aug., 1536, and is therefore the oldest see of the River Plate. The first bishop was Father Pedro de La Torre, a Franciscan who arrived at Asunción on the eve of Palm Sunday, 1555, during the second administration of Martinez de Irala. Directly dependent upon Rome, its jurisdiction extends over the whole territory of the republic, which is divided into 102 parishes, 6 of them being located in the capital. The present Cathedral of Asunción was formally dedicated on 27 Oct., 1845.

As above stated, the constitution provides that worship shall be free within the territory of the republic. The incorporation of churches and tenure of church property in Paraguay are governed under laws similar to those in force in the Argentine Republic, and the same may be said as to wills and testaments, charitable bequests, marriage, divorce, etc., the Argentine Civil Code having been adopted as a law of the country under an act of congress dated 19 Aug., 1876. All Catholic marriages are ipso facto valid for the purposes of the civil law, and by an act of 27 Sept., 1887, marriages performed under other rites should be recorded in the civil register in order that they may have legal force.

Under the Paraguayan law the clergy are exempt from military and jury service, and all accessories of Divine worship are admitted free of duty when imported at the instance of the bishop.

On 6 Sept., 1909, a law was enacted providing for the conversion of Indians to Christianity and civilization. By virtue of this law, the President of the Republic is authorized to grant public lands to individuals or companies organized for the purpose of converting the said tribes, in parcels not exceeding 7,500 hectares (about 18,750 acres) each, on which the concessionaire shall establish a reduction with the necessary churches, houses, schools, etc. Several English Episcopalian missions have been established in the Chaco under this law.

By law of 22 July, 1909, and in accordance with the Constitution (Art. 8) primary instruction is compulsory in the republic for all children between 5 and 14 years of age. At the beginning of 1909 there were in Paraguay 344 primary schools, attended by 40,605 pupils, and employing 756 teachers. These figures do not include the private schools, which had during the same year an attendance of from 2,000 to 3,000 pupils. The course of primary instruction covers a period of six years. Secondary instruction is given in five national colleges, one of which is in the capital, and the others in Villa Concepción, Villa Rica, Villa Encarnación, and Villa del Pilar. There are also two normal schools for the preparation of teachers. Higher education is provided for in the University of Asunción, which offers a six-years' course in law, social sciences, and medicine. Further courses in pharmacy and other branches have recently been added. There is besides a school of agriculture and a military academy.

For the education of young men in the ecclesiastical career there is at Asunción an excellent institution known as the "Seminario Conciliar", founded in 1881 upon the initiative of Ana Escate, who personally collected the funds necessary for its establishment. During the thirty years of its existence sixty priests have graduated therefrom, one of them being the present Bishop of Paraguay, Monsignor Juan Sinforiano Bogarin.