CARONI, APOSTOLIC VICARIATE OF. — The evangelization of the territory of C. (Venezuela) was begun in 1687 by a group of Capuchins who had come from the island of Trinidad, where the Spanish colonial governor resided. After several years of fruitless labor, these first missionaries were forced to abandon the region because of the unhealthy climate and the hostility that the Indians, angered by the mistreatment they had suffered at the hands of the conquerors, bore toward the whites. In 1727 the Capuchins of the Province of Catalonia arrived in C. Protected by King Philip V of Spain and provided with a small annual subsidy, they soon succeeded in establishing several mission stations. By the end of the 18th century, the territory had become almost entirely Catholic.
The mission was completely destroyed during the Venezuelan War of Independence in the 19th century, in which nearly all the religious and a large number of Christians perished. Reconstruction work was resumed in 1918 by the Capuchins of Castile, and in 1922 the territory of C., which had always remained under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Guayana, was erected into an apostolic vicariate and entrusted to the Capuchin Province of Castile.
The statistical data of the mission may be summarized as follows: area, 150,000 sq. km.; population, 82,305, of whom 78,200 are Catholic, 3,000 pagan, and the rest Protestant; Capuchin missionaries, 18; lay brothers, 8; Capuchin tertiary sisters, 15; Franciscan tertiary sisters, 6; catechists, 137; teachers, 156; parishes, 10; mission stations, 301; churches, 12; chapels, 40. Schools: elementary, 193 with over 9,000 pupils; secondary, 1 with 19 pupils; normal, 1 with 28 pupils. Hospitals, 11 with 291 beds; pharmacies, 34; orphanages, 6. There are also various lay religious confraternities and charitable associations.