ESMERALDAS, APOSTOLIC PREFECTURE of. — The mission of E. comprises the homonymous province situated in the northern part of the Republic of Ecuador. It was established as an apostolic prefecture in 1945 with territory taken from the diocese of Puertoviejo and entrusted to the Discalced Carmelites of the Spanish province of Burgos.
Until that time, only one or two priests had worked in evangelizing that area: the results were not abundant, and the works of missionary apostolate had seen no development. In 1948 the Carmelites increased the number of priests to 7 and sent several lay brothers there. A community of Sisters of Providence directs two Catholic girls’ schools, the only ones existing in the entire region, and assists the missionaries in teaching catechism to the people. The population numbers approximately 75,000, mostly Indians, scattered over an area of 16,000 sq. km. They are naturally good and do not resist the missionaries’ evangelizing work; most of them are baptized, but they do not practise the Catholic religion because of spiritual indolence and the difficulty of reaching the church, since means of communication are lacking.