Provincial Delegation in Ecuador
Mother Province: Province of St. Maximilian M. Kolbe in Poland (Gdańsk)
During its Chapter of 1993, the Province of Gdańsk decided to open a mission in Ecuador, further augmenting the Order’s presence in Latin America. The first friars arrived in June of 1995, and settled in Santo Domingo de los Colorados.
Currently, the Jurisdiction has thirteen solemnly professed friars, four simply professed friars, four friaries and one filial house
Santo Domingo de los Colorados: San Antonio de Padua Friary and Parish (1995)
The name of the city comes from the Tsáchila tribe who were also known by the nickname “Colorados” due to the color of their skin. They were evangelized by the Dominicans at the time of the Spanish colonization. Today, Santo Domingo is a large city of about 300,000 inhabitants. The parish church is located in a very poor neighborhood on the outskirts of the city. In addition to pastoral ministry and evangelization, the friars carry out important social works of the Delegation. The Alegria de Vivir [Joy of Living] foundation works with the friars in carrying out various social programs for the region’s neediest. The latest of these is a medical clinic.
Tulcán: San Francisco de Asís Friary (1999)
Tulcán is a city of about 56,000 inhabitants, located at an altitude of 3,000 meters [9842 feet] near the border with Colombia. The population has been closely linked to the Franciscan tradition since the arrival of the Capuchins. In addition to operating a postulancy house, the friars here are entrusted with the beautiful San Francisco Church, which is very popular with the locals. The friars also carry out social work, offering assistance to needy children at the Arca de Noé [Noah’s Ark] charitable center.
Shushufindi: San Francisco de Asís Friary and Parish (1999)
Shushufindi is a very young city, founded in eastern Ecuador in 1984. The friary looks out upon a wide system of valleys converging upon the Amazon River. The shallow valleys of the Gran Coca plain are also visible. Shushufindi has a very hot and humid climate. The city itself has 14,000 inhabitants and features large centers for petroleum production, one of the country’s main natural resources. Since 1999, the friars have carried out pastoral ministry and evangelization for 26,000 area residents. Besides running two churches in the city center, the friars regularly visit fifty outlying chapels in rural areas. The chapels are scattered within a radius of 50 km [30 mi.]. Shushufindi is also home to the Fundación San Maximiliano, a small charitable foundation that works with the friars in offering services to the elderly.
Quito: San José de Cupertino Friary and Jesús el Buen Pastor Parish (2014)
The friars manage a typical urban parish and conduct various social-charitable activities in the area. One of the friars also serves as a high school chaplain.
Quito: San Maximiliano M. Kolbe Filial House (2010)
This is a filial house of the San José de Cupertino Friary. It is also the seat of the Provincial Delegation. Currently this house also functions as a post-novitiate formation house.
Franciscan Missionary Center
General Secretariat for Mission Animation