Padre Las Casas is a city and commune located in the Araucanía region, part of the city of Temuco. Founded on September 1st, 1899, situated south from the Cautín river, it was initially called “Villa Alegre”. On June 2nd, 1995, the Decree-Law N°19,391 from the Interior Ministry was published which originated the administrative unit today known as the Padre Las Casas commune (old neighborhood or Temuco area). Today it has 75,225 inhabitants and It is the second most populated commune in the Araucanía region.