The Military Bishopric of Ecuador is a military ordinariate

Military ordinariate

A military ordinariate is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church, of Latin or Eastern Rite, responsible for the pastoral care of Catholics serving in the armed forces of a nation....

 of the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

. Immediately subject to the Holy See

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

, it provides pastoral care

Pastoral care

Pastoral care is the ministry of care and counseling provided by pastors, chaplains and other religious leaders to members of their church or congregation, or to persons of all faiths and none within institutional settings. This can range anywhere from home visitation to formal counseling provided...

 to Roman Catholics serving in the Ecuadorian Armed Forces

Military of Ecuador

The Military of Ecuador is under civilian control. The commander-in-chief is the President of Ecuador, currently Rafael Correa. The military of Ecuador has been involved in border disputes with Peru , and has provided Military Observers and troops to the United Nations since 1948.-Mission:The...

 and their families.

History

It was established as a military vicariate on 30 March 1983, with the first military vicar appointment on 5 August 1983. It was elevated to a military ordinariate on 21 July 1986.

Military vicars

• Juan Ignacio Larrea Holguín
  Juan Ignacio Larrea Holguín
  Archbishop Emeritus Juan Ignacio Larrea Holguín , was archbishop of Guayaquil for ten years, and the first member of the prelature of Opus Dei in Ecuador...
  
   (appointed 5 August 1983 – resigned 7 December 1989)
• Raúl Eduardo Vela Chiriboga
  Raúl Eduardo Vela Chiriboga
  Raúl Eduardo Vela Chiriboga is the Archbishop Emeritus of Quito. He served as archbishop of Quito and the Primate of Ecuador from 2003 to 2010 when Fausto Trávez Trávez was appointed to replace Archbishop Vela Chiriboga....
  
   (appointed 8 July 1989 – translated to the Archdiocese of Quito 21 March 2003)

Military ordinaries

• Miguel Angel Aguilar Miranda (current incumbent, appointed 14 February 2004)