São Miguel das Missões

São Miguel das Missões – the ancient ruins located in Brazil in the provincial town of Rio Grande do Sul. Back in the 17th century, the Jesuits created a truly unique mission, founded with the aim of converting local Indians to the Christian faith. It was created near the small town of Itayaseko Indians, and a little later it was moved to where it is now. This mission included seven missions at once, each of which preached Christianity and tried to attract those who had gone astray to their side.

During the Jesuit mission, 4,000 Indians were able to convert to the Christian faith, and in 1735, in honor of this achievement, the creation of the church began. In early 1750. Portugal decided to transfer the entire territory of the mission of Spain, and the Indians were ordered to strictly leave their place of residence. But when they categorically refused to comply with the order, they were pressured by the Spanish army, which later conquered the entire territory of San Miguel das Misoynes. But the Indians continued to resist the right to live here until in 1756 the Spaniards seized all seven missions and gained undivided power.

In 1929, on the territory of the city of Santa Angela, local authorities built an exact copy of the mission cathedral, and in 1940 a historical museum was created in honor of it, which to this day contains many wooden sculptures with images of saints. These sculptures were created by the hands of the Jesuits and the Indians. The statues are of different sizes and the highest of them reach 2 meters.

At their best time, the missions were prosperous individual cities with their own population, but after being captured by the Spaniards, they began to lose their greatness and splendor, but not as a result of internal contradictions, and because of the battles for power between Portugal and Spain, which was due to the fact that the Catholic Church refused to extend the mandate.

At present, the ruins of San Miguel das Misouns are considered one of the most popular Brazilian attractions. Therefore, there are often tourists who are happy to attend excursions conducted by local residents. Despite the fact that San Miguel das-Misouns did not survive well enough, its ruins are thoroughly saturated with the Christian faith. Having been here, even a non-believer person doubts his beliefs and repeatedly thinks about the correctness of the chosen path.