Apostolic Vicariate of Zamora in Ecuador

The Apostolic Vicariate (or Vicariate Apostolic) of Zamora en [i.e. in] Ecuador (Latin: Apostolicus Vicariatus Zamorensis in Aequatoria) is a missionary circonscription of the Roman Catholic Church.

Apostolic Vicariate of Zamora en Ecuador Apostolicus Vicariatus Zamorensis in Aequatoria
Location
Country	Ecuador
Statistics
Area	10,556 km2 (4,076 sq mi)
Population Total Catholics	(as of 2010) 125,000 113,000 (90.4%)
Parishes	20
Information
Denomination	Catholic Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	17 February 1893 (132 years ago)
Current leadership
Pope	Leo XIV
Apostolic Vicar	Jaime Oswaldo Castillo Villacrés
Bishops emeritus	Serafín Luis Alberto Cartagena Ocaña, O.F.M.
Map

Its cathedral see is located in the city of Zamora, in Ecuador's Amazonian Zamora-Chinchipe province. It is exempt, i.e. directly subject to the Holy See, not part of any ecclesiastical province.

History

On 17 February 1893, Pope Leo XIII established the Vicariate Apostolic of Zamora from the Ecuadorian Apostolic Vicariate of Napo.

Its name was changed slightly by Pope John Paul II to the Apostolic Vicariate of Zamora en Ecuador on 22 February 1991.^[1][2] This avoids confusion with other cities called Zamora, in Europe and the Americas (including bishoprics in Spain and Mexico).

Incumbent ordinaries

So far, all its apostolic vicars have been Franciscans (O.F.M. ).

• Jorge Francisco Mosquera Barreiro, O.F.M. †1990 (21 April 1964 – 10 Sep. 1982)
• Serafín Luis Alberto Cartagena Ocaña, O.F.M. (10 Sep. 1982 – 1 Feb. 2003)
• Fausto Trávez Trávez, O.F.M. (1 Feb. 2003 – 27 March 2008) Appointed, Bishop of Babahoyo
• Walter Jehowá Heras Segarra, O.F.M. (25 March 2009 – 31 Oct 2019) Appointed, Bishop of Loja

See also

• Roman Catholicism in Ecuador