Reduction of Our Lady of Laurel

Reduction of Our Lady of Laurel, founded in 1610, was one of the first reduction established in the Americas by the Jesuits in the Province of Paraguay during the Spanish colonial period. The site is in Argentina's Misiones Province's Candelaria Department.

The Jesuits studied Indian languages and devised methods for writing them in the Roman alphabet. At this mission, they established a printing press, which became well-known. The Jesuits not only printed works in Spanish and Latin (the languages of the Catholic liturgy, Bible, and prayer book), but they also translated the Bible and other Christian works into Indian languages and published dictionaries.

Father Antonio Garriga was a Spanish Jesuit who was attached to Nuestra Señora de Loreto from the late 17th century until the early 18th century. He was best known as a linguist and Moro missionary; he worked in the region beginning in 1696 and served as Superior of the Mission several times. His book, Practical Instruction to Order One's Life According to Saintly Precepts, was the mission's second oldest book printed. A Filipino built a ship named after the reduction in Baja California in 1760.

Only the ruins of the Jesuit reduction remain on the site now. UNESCO listed it as a World Heritage Site in 1984, together with San Ignacio Mini, Nuestra Señora de Santa Ana, and anta María la Mayor in Argentina, and São Miguel das Missões in Brazil. UNESCO designated two missions of the Province of Paraguay, located in modern-day Paraguay, as World Heritage Sites in 1993.

Location: Misiones Province, Argentina