MENDEZ, Apostolic Vicariate of. - Located in the eastern region of the Republic of Ecuador. It also included the area of Gualaquiza; but this was detached by decree on 12 April 1951, because, due to the delimitation of the borders between Ecuador and Peru, it came to be situated in Peruvian territory.
Until this date, M. and Gualaquiza shared a common history. The first to penetrate the area were the Capuchins (1622), followed in 1638 by the Jesuits, who established a mission along the Marañón River. When the latter, due to the expulsion from the territories of the Spanish Crown, had to abandon the flourishing mission, which was also watered by the blood of religious, they were replaced by secular priests, sent first by the bishop of Chachapoyas (Peru) and later, because of the revolution, by the bishops of Loja, Cuenca, and Quito (Ecuador). After overcoming various political difficulties, on 17 February 1893 the vicariate of M. and Gualaquiza was erected and entrusted to the Salesians of St. John Bosco. However, as early as 1895, the revolution dealt a severe blow to the new mission; yet the Salesians remained. The difficulties were so great that the apostolic vicar, over the course of 20 years, managed to penetrate the area only twice, almost in secret. In 1914 the mission was on the verge of extinction, but, thanks mainly to the intervention of the bishop of Cuenca, the apostolic vicar was able to gain free access. The indigenous people of the territory, numbering about 12,000, are wild "Jivaros," always