MACHIQUES, APOSTOLIC VICARIATE OF. - Located on the western borders of Venezuela, it comprises the districts or provinces that form part of the State of Zulia: Páez, Mara (only in part), Perijá, Colón.
The territory was first evangelized by Spanish Capuchins from Valencia in 1694. Later, some Fathers from Navarre joined them; the work was arduous, but the zeal of these good priests succeeded in establishing various Christian communities, which were suppressed during the Venezuelan war of independence, forcing the missionaries to abandon the region. Evangelization was resumed in 1919 by the Capuchins of Castile, to whom the apostolic vicariate, erected by separation from the diocese of Zulia on 26 May 1943, was later entrusted. The inhabitants are whites, mostly employed in oil companies, and indigenous people, who can be grouped into three categories according to their degree of civilization: semi-civilized, gentle savages, and fierce savages. The semi-civilized prefer to live in the districts of Páez and Mara: almost all are baptized, but deeply devoted to superstitions and corrupt habits from which they find it hard to detach themselves. The gentle savages live in the highlands of Perijá, in hamlets several days' walk apart: their houses are most wretched, built with poles and large tree leaves, they sleep on mats and wear a piece of cloth woven from coarse fibers. The fierce savages, called Motilones, are scattered in Colón: they have a reputation for ferocity because of the killings they perpetrate among workers, shepherds, and farmers; they hate whites because of the mistreatment they suffered when oil companies were established.
The statistical data for 1950 are as follows: 35,000 inhabitants, of whom 32,270 are Catholic and the rest pagans; 10 Capuchin priests, assisted in their ministry by 5 brothers and 15 sisters; 5 primary stations with their churches, 14 secondary stations; 65 Catholic elementary schools with 2,614 pupils; 8 dispensaries with 8,119 consultations per year.