The Catholic Church in Ecuador comprises only a Latin hierarchy, united in a national

episcopal conference An episcopal conference, sometimes called a conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities. The first assembly of bishops to ...

, which comprises: * four

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United State ...

s, each province is headed by the Metropolitanan

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of an

archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

, and a total of 14

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

s. * are also eight pre-diocesan, missionary Apostolic Vicariates, headed by

Titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

s * one

Military Ordinariate A military ordinariate is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church, of the Latin or an Eastern church, responsible for the pastoral care of Catholics serving in the armed forces of a nation. Until 1986, they were called "military v ...

in (and for the armed forces in all) Ecuador. The Metropolitan Archbishopric of Quito is the

Primatial see Primate () is a title or rank bestowed on some important archbishops in certain Christian churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority (title of authority) or (usually) ceremonial precedence (ti ...

of Ecuador. There is an Apostolic Nunciature as papal diplomatic representation (embassy level), in national capital

Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...

. There are no Eastern Catholic jurisdictions and no titular sees. All defunct jurisdictions have current successor sees.

Current Latin sees

Jurisdicciones eclesiásticas católicas de Ecuador

The boundaries of the 24 administrative

provinces of Ecuador Ecuador is divided into 24 provinces ( es, provincias, singular''provincia''). The provinces of Ecuador and their capitals are: List 1 Population as per the census carried out on 2010-11-28 In addition, there were four areas that were non-del ...

mostly coincide with the boundaries of most territorial ecclesiastical jurisdictions.

Exempt jurisdictions

These are directly dependent on the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

Military Ordinariate

Military Ordinariate of Ecuador The Military Ordinariate of Ecuador ( es, Obispado Castrense del Ecuador) is a Latin Church military ordinariate of the Catholic Church in Ecuador. It is immediately exempt to the Holy See and its Roman Congregation for Bishops. it is headqua ...

, an army bishopric

Apostolic Vicariates

Apostolic Vicariate of Aguarico The Apostolic Vicariate (Vicariate Apostolic) of Aguarico ( la, Apostolicus Vicariatus Aguaricoënsis), a missionary s-circonscription of the Roman Catholic Church, is located in the Aguarico Canton in Ecuador's Amazon Rainforest. History On ...

Apostolic Vicariate of Esmeraldas The Apostolic Vicariate (or Vicariate Apostolic) of Esmeraldas ( la, Apostolicus Vicariatus Esmeraldensis) is a missionary pre-diocesan circonscription of the Roman Catholic Church. Its cathedral see Catedral Cristo Rey is located in the town of ...

* Apostolic Vicariate of Galápagos *

Apostolic Vicariate of Méndez The Apostolic Vicariate (or Vicariate Apostolic) of Méndez ( la, Apostolicus Vicariatus Mendezensis) is a missionary circonscription of the Roman Catholic Church. Its cathedral see, Catedral Purísima de Macas, is located in the city of Macas ( ...

Apostolic Vicariate of Napo The Apostolic Vicariate (Vicariate Apostolic) of Napo ( la, Apostolicus Vicariatus Napensis) is a missionary circonscription (quasi-diocese) of the Roman Catholic Church. Its cathedral see, Catedral San José, is located in the city of Tena, capit ...

Apostolic Vicariate of Puyo The Apostolic Vicariate (Vicariate Apostolic) of Puyo ( la, Apostolicus Vicariatus Puyoënsis) is an Apostolic Vicariate (missionary pre-diocesan circumscription) of the Roman Catholic Church. It has a cathedral see, the Catedral Nuestra Señora ...

Apostolic Vicariate of San Miguel de Sucumbíos The Apostolic Vicariate (or Vicariate Apostolic) of San Miguel de Sucumbíos ( la, Apostolicus Vicariatus Sancti Michaëlis de Sucumbios) is a missionary entity of the Roman Catholic Church. Its cathedral see, the Catedral Nuestra Señora del Cisn ...

Apostolic Vicariate of Zamora en Ecuador The Apostolic Vicariate (or Vicariate Apostolic) of Zamora ''en'' .e. ''in''Ecuador ( la, Apostolicus Vicariatus Zamorensis in Aequatoria) is a missionary circonscription of the Roman Catholic Church. Its cathedral see is located in the city of ...

Ecclesiastical province of Quito

* Metropolitan Archdiocese of Quito, primate of Ecuador ** Diocese of Ambato ** Diocese of Guaranda ** Diocese of Ibarra ** Diocese of Latacunga ** Diocese of Riobamba ** Diocese of Tulcán

Ecclesiastical province of Cuenca

* Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cuenca ** Diocese of Azogues ** Diocese of Loja ** Diocese of Machala

Ecclesiastical province of Guayaquil

* Metropolitan Archdiocese of Guayaquil ** Diocese of Babahoyo ** Diocese of Daule ** Diocese of San Jacinto ** Diocese of Santa Elena

Ecclesiastical province of Portoviejo

* Metropolitan Archdiocese of Portoviejo ** Diocese of Santo Domingo en Ecuador

Demographics

Accoriding to recent statistics, Catholics make up 77% of the population of Ecuador.Latinobarometro, Opinion Publica Latinoamericana, Enero 2018.

References

Sources and external links

GCatholic.org - data for all sections

Official website of the Catholic Church in Ecuador
{{South America in topic, Catholic Church in, groupstyle=background-color:gold, titlestyle=background-color:gold

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...