The Catholic Church in Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay

Vatican City, 30 June 2015 (VIS) – As previously announced, the Pope will make an apostolic trip to Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay from 5 to 12 July. The following are some statistics regarding the presence of the Catholic Church in the three countries:

Ecuador has a surface area of 283,561 square kilometres and 15,775,000 inhabitants of whom 13,978,000 are Catholics (87.4%). The Church consists of 25 ecclesiastical circumscriptions, 1,250 parishes and 4.369 pastoral centres, with 52 bishops, 2,198 priests, 973 seminarians, 5,261 men and women religious and 49,489 catechists. The Church runs 1,469 schools and educational institutes at all levels and 173 hospitals and clinics, 56 rest homes and 167 orphanages or nurseries, 32 family support centres and 626 other social structures.

Bolivia has a surface area of 1,098,581 square kilometres and 11,280,000 inhabitants of whom 9,301,000 are Catholics (82.5%). The Church consists of 18 ecclesiastical circumscriptions, 600 parishes and 210 pastoral centres, with 38 bishops, 1,208 priests, 599 seminarians, 2,869 men and women religious, and 17,768 catechists. The Church runs 1,791 schools and educational institutes at all levels and 183 hospitals and clinics, 48 rest homes and 186 orphanages and nurseries, 49 family support centres and 293 other social structures.

Paraguay has a surface area of 406,752 square kilometres and 6,783,000 inhabitants of whom 6,318,000 are Catholics (93.2%). The Church consists of 15 ecclesiastical circumscriptions, 372 parishes and 1,451 pastoral centres, with 23 bishops, 804 priests, 684 seminarians, 180 men and women religious, and 53,738 catechists. The Church runs 684 schools and teaching institutes at all levels and 38 hospitals and clinics, 14 rest homes and 26 orphanages and nurseries, 56 family support centres, and 46 other social structures.