A weathered niche stands in the wall of the sacristy at the ruins if the Jesuit mission church at Jesus de Tavarangue, Paraguay. Scores of Jesuit missions in the area where Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil meet were built in the 17th century and abandoned when the Jesuits were expelled in the 18th century. Ruins of some of these missions still haunt hilltops in the region. (Kevin Moloney for the New York Times)
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