QUITO, ARCHDIOCESE OF
Archdiocese and capital city of Ecuador, at 2,850 m. above sea level. It has an area of 21,362 sq. km. with a population of 543,735 inhabitants, of whom 542,000 are Catholic; it comprises 70 parishes served by 129 diocesan priests and 185 regular clergy; it has 34 male and 54 female religious communities (Ann. Pont., 1952, p. 333).
Quito, a city already in existence at the end of the 11th century, was conquered by the Cara who founded a kingdom there, which was then occupied in the mid-15th century by the Inca. The Spanish forced their way in in 1533, while the inhabitants set fire to the city; it was rebuilt immediately afterwards, and Charles V enriched it with privileges and made it the capital of the region under the jurisdiction of the Viceroyalty of Peru; in 1718 it was instead annexed to that of Santa Fé de Bogotá. From 1809 to 1812 Ecuador’s independence was unsuccessfully attempted; from 1822 to 1830 it was part of the Republic of Gran Colombia, until it became an autonomous state in 1830. The oldest church in Quito is the cathedral of St Francis, begun by the architect Jodoco Ricke as early as 1534, but completed by Antonio Rodriguez more than a century later with the adjoining convent. The interior has three naves divided by pillars; the Baroque façade was damaged by an earthquake. The church, convent and cloister of La Merced are the work of J. Jacinto Ortiz; that of the Dominicans contains a statue of the Madonna donated to Quito by Charles V. Notable is the church of the Jesuits, whose façade features six Corinthian columns; mention should also be made of the churches of Carmen Antiguo, St Augustine and St Clare.
Today the archdiocese comprises the provinces of Pichincha, León and Tungurahua. Sixtus V, by a bull of 20 August 1586, erected the University, which was opened by the Jesuits in 1621 (J. Toribio Medina, *La impronta en Q.*, Santiago 1924). On 6 August 1875 President G. García Moreno was assassinated in Quito; he, together with Archbishop Msgr. Checa, had consecrated (preceding every other nation) Ecuador to the Sacred Heart.
The Central University of Ecuador in Quito was founded by the Dominicans at the end of the 18th century. In addition to the National Library, notable ones are those of the monasteries of St Francis and La Merced. Quito is home to the Eucharistic Academy and the National Academy of History.