Santuario de Mama Ashu

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Assumption of Chacas, popularly called Sanctuary of Mama Ashu, is a Peruvian temple of the Catholic Church located in the Ancashian town of Chacas. It is dedicated to four patron saints: the Virgin Mary in her invocation of Assumption, Saint Martin I, Saint Joseph and the Child Jesus. It was declared Historical Patrimony of Peru in 1941 and consecrated as Sanctuary in 2005, date in which the Virgin of the Assumption was also elevated as patron saint of the Diocese of Huari. At the moment it belongs to this through the Parish San Martin Pope of Chacas that is directed by the priests Luca Bergamaschi and Misael Amez.

Its construction was started by the Augustinian evangelists in 1572 over a pre-Inca sanctuary. Its first enlargement took place in the decade of 1750 and an important refurbishment that would add another tower, between 1955 and 1968. This construction did not resist the earthquake of Ancash in 1970 that destroyed a good part of the structure. It remained in that state until the 1980s, when it was demolished in its entirety to be rebuilt with modern techniques under the leadership of the parish priest Ugo de Censi and the movement of young volunteers he led, Operation Mato Grosso.

The sanctuary has the classic structure with a Latin cross plan, two towers, carved gate and a rose window in the upper part of the front, the openings are covered by stained glass windows depicting passages from the New Testament and the Virgin Mary Help of Christians. In its interior stand out invaluable pieces of colonial art, such as the main altarpiece of Chacas covered in gold leaf, built in the decade of 1750; other 2 minor altarpieces, also the Holy Sepulchre and the Holy Cross of Chacas. In imagery we have the Virgin of the Assumption and Saint Martin I, Saint Joseph and the Child Jesus, the Crucified Christ, the Lord of the Passion, the Virgin of Sorrows, Saint John, and several saints.

It houses the remains of the hero of the Independence of Peru and Argentina, Francisco Araoz de La Madrid, buried in 1837 and the Italian-Peruvian missionary priest Ugo de Censi, buried in 2018.