Devotion to the Virgen de Itacuá dates back to the early 20th century, when boatmen on the Paraná river prayed to her to get past the rocky bend and strong current at Punta Itacuá. Missionaries of the Divine Word installed a small image brought from Europe there, which became a pilgrimage site.

The main sanctuary, built in a shape that evokes a ship in tribute to the river boatmen, stands 9 kilometers from downtown Encarnación, at the end of the road known as Tupasy Rape. About twenty stations with carved images line the route that draws thousands of pilgrims every December 8.