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In October 1863, the then president of the Republic Francisco Solano López, ordered the construction of the oratory of the Virgin of the Assumption, was designed by the Italian architect Alejandro Ravizza, in collaboration with the constructor Giácomo Colombino. But, as a result of the War of the Triple Alliance, the building remained unfinished and on scaffolding for more than 70 years. Only after the Chaco War in 1936 could it be completed and it was inaugurated on October 12 of the same year, to be converted by presidential decree into the National Pantheon of Heroes.



Under pressure from the ecclesiastical hierarchy and devout citizens of the Virgin, who is considered until now Patron of Paraguay and Marshal of his Armies, Dr. Félix Paiva is forced to restore the Oratory to the Virgin of the Assumption in 1937 and at the same time time it continued being National Pantheon of the Heroes. By Decree No. 895/1993 of the Archbishopric of Asunción, Monsignor Anibal Rachid was appointed Rector of the Oratory of Our Lady of the Assumption and therefore of the National Pantheon.





The National Pantheon of Heroes and Oratory of the Virgin Our Lady, Santa María de la Asunción, located between the streets of Palma and Chile in the center of the capital of Paraguay, is a mandatory stop for all tourists and delegations of foreigners who arrive to Paraguay and visit Asunción. It is, at the same time, an architectural jewel of great artistic, cultural and patrimonial value.





It is interesting to note that the National Secretariat of Tourism highlights the National Pantheon of Heroes and Oratory of the Virgin of the Assumption as a point of tourist interest, with free and free access. Numerous tourism agencies promote it in different parts of the world. So much is the importance of the building that its image is printed on the bills and coins of 1000 thousand Guarani.

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