Ecuador

Independent republic in the northwestern part of South America. The kingdom of the Quitus had existed for perhaps a thousand years when conquered by the Peruvians in 1460. It was seized by Spain in 1533. Soon after the discovery of Ecuador in 1525, Dominican missionaries arrived, and the See of Quito was erected in 1545. The Jesuits later joined in the labors, and Christianity spread through the country, but after the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767 and the subsequent revolution, the natives relapsed into paganism. Independence from Spain was achieved in 1822, and Ecuador, was separated from New Granada and Venezuela and established as a republic in 1830. Freedom of worship is granted to all and there is no official religion.

Archdioceses, past and present, include

• Cuenca
• Guayaquil
• Portoviejo
• Quito

Dioceses, past and present, include:

• Ambato
• Azogues
• Babahoyo
• Guaranda
• Ibarra
• Latacunga
• Loja
• Machala
• Riobamba
• Santo Domingo de los Colorados
• Tulcán

Vicarates Apostolic include:

• Aguarico
• Esmeraldas
• Méndez
• Napo
• Puyo
• San Miguel de Sucumbíos
• Zamora en Ecuador

Other ecclesiastical divisions include:

• Ecuador Military Ordinariate
• Galápagos

Saint and beati with an Ecuadoran connection include

• Maria Caridad Brader
• Miguel Febres Cordero Muñoz
• Mary Ann de Paredes
• Mercedes Maria of Jesus
• Mercedes Maria of Jesus

See also:

• World Fact Book
• Catholic-Hierarchy.Org
• patron saints index: Ecuador
• patron saints index: Ecuadorian Army

New Catholic Dictionary

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