Prefecture Apostolic. —An account is here given of the prefectures Apostolic that have been erected or changed during the publication of the earlier volumes of this work.
BAR-EL-GAZAL.—This mission was separated from the Vicariate Apostolic of the Sudan, and formed into a prefecture Apostolic on May 30, 1913. It was entrusted to the care of the Congregation of the Sons of the Sacred Heart. Its boundaries were fixed as follows: on the north, the 10° N. lat. from the British Sudan frontier to the river Bar-el-Arab, then the rivers Bar-el-Arab, Bar-el-Gazal, Bar-el-Gebel, and Lobat as far as the British-Abyssinian border; on the east, the Abyssinian border from the Baro to Naita mountain and thence to Foweira on the Victoria Nile; on the south the Victoria Nile, the northern shore of Lake Albert, and the Belgian-British frontier. On the west the Belgian-British and British-French frontiers as far as the 10° N. lat. By a Decree dated May 30, 1913, R. P. Antonio Stoppani, of the Verona Institute of the Sons of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, was appointed first prefect Apostolic.
BETAFO.—This mission was separated from the Vicariate Apostolic of Central Madagascar (or Tananarive) by a Decree dated May 15, 1913, and made a prefecture Apostolic. It is entrusted to the care of the Missionary Fathers of La Salette. The following boundary was assigned to the new prefecture: on the north, the 19° S. lat. from the Mozambique Channel to the borders of the Province of Itasy, then the southern limits of the province to the Kitsamby, then the northern and eastern borders of Faratsiho, to the latitude of Mount Faratsiho, and from there to the western border of Yatomandri; on the east, the border of Yatomandri as far as the 20° S. lat.; on the south, the Vicariate Apostolic of Fianarantsao; on the west, the Mozambique Channel from the 19° to 20° S. lat.
Choco, in Colombia.—This prefecture was erected on April 28, 1908, and entrusted to the care of the Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The superior of the mission is R. P. Juan Gil y Garcia.
CIMBEBASIA, LOWER.—The boundary between this prefecture and that of Great Namaqualand was modified slightly by a Decree of June 2, 1913, which provided that the southern boundaries of the districts of Gobabis, Windhuk, Karibib, and Swakopmund, should be the line of delimitation between the two prefectures. The mission contains about 185,000 inhabitants, of whom are 907 native and 636 European Catholics; there are 378 catechumens, 20 priests (Oblates of Mary Immaculate), 23 lay brothers, 10 catechists, 11 stations, 24 schools with 520 pupils, and 16 Franciscan Missionary Sisters. The prefect Apostolic is R. P. Eugene Klaeyle, b. at Mutzig, Alsatia, in 1879; ordained, 1903; superior of the mission since November 30, 1909.
CAROLINE ISLANDS.—This prefecture Apostolic and that of the Mariana Islands were suppressed by a Decree dated March 1, 1911, and replaced by a new vicariate Apostolic, called that of the Mariana and Caroline Islands (q.v.)
DRISDALE RIVER, Australia, erected on May 4, 1910; the territory, bounded by the 128° E. long. and 16° S. lat. and the ocean, was separated from the Vicariate Apostolic of Kimberley, when a mission was established for the conversion of the aborigines. It is at present under the jurisdiction of the Abbot of New Norcia, but is later to be erected into an abbacy nullius.
ERYTHREA, in East Africa.—This prefecture was erected into a vicariate Apostolic on February 7, 1911.
HO-NAN, WESTERN, in China.—This was erected into a vicariate Apostolic on May 2, 1911.
KAFFA, SOUTHERN, In Abyssinia, a mission separated from the Vicariate Apostolic of Galla (q.v.), by a Decree dated January 28, 1913; and committed to the care of the Turin Institute of the “Consolata” for the Foreign Missions. Its boundaries are: on the north, the Baro from the Abyssinian-British frontier to its source in Mount Secia, next the Goggeb till it falls into the Omo, and then a line directly east to the Arussi Mountains; on the east, the watershed between the Indian Ocean and Lakes Margherita, Ciamo, and Stefania; on the south, a line from the extremity of that watershed to the eastern shore of Lake Rudolph, at 4° N. lat.; on the west, the Abyssinian-British frontier between the River Baro and Lake Rudolph. R. P. Gaudentius Barlassina was appointed prefect Apostolic on May 6, 1913.
KATANGA.—This mission was separated from the Vicariate Apostolic of Belgian Congo on August 5, 1910. Its boundaries were fixed as follows: on the west, the Lualaba and the Luvua as far as Lake Moero, thence eastward along the Luapula to Lake Banguelo. From the source of the Luapula to the source of the Lualaba, the eastern and southern boundary of the prefecture is the Congo-Rhodesian frontier. The mission is entrusted to the Brazilian Congregation of the Benedictines of the Abbey of Saint-Andre, of Lophem-les-Bruges, Belgium; as it is intended to erect the mission into an abbacy nullius. Three Benedictine priests and two lay brothers left Belgium for the mission on August 18, 1910. The first prefect Apostolic is Dom Jean de Hemptinne, appointed, August, 1910.
KATANGA, SOUTHERN.—This mission, which formed the eastern portion of the Prefecture Apostolic of Upper Kassai, was separated from it and erected into a distinct prefecture on June 30, 1911; it has been entrusted to the Fathers of the Holy Ghost and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Its boundaries are: on the north, a right line from the mouth of the Elila to the town of Benakamba; on the west, the Lomani from Benakamba to its sources; on the south, the Lovoi; on the east, the Lualaba from the mouth of the Lovoi to the Elila, R. P. Emile Callawaert was appointed first prefect Apostolic on July 25, 1911.
KOROGO, in Equatorial Africa.—On November 17, 1911, the Prefecture Apostolic of the Ivory Coast, was divided into two parts. The northern portion was formed into the Prefecture Apostolic of Korogo, and entrusted to the Lyons Society of the African Missions. R. P. Pierre-Marie Kernivinen was appointed first prefect Apostolic on January 16, 1912.
MARIANA ISLANDS.—This prefecture and that of the Caroline Island were suppressed by a Decree of March 1, 1911, when the two missions, with the exception of the Island of Guam, were formed into the Vicariate Apostolic of the Mariana and Caroline Islands (infra, p. 82).
MATADI, in Belgian Congo.—This mission was separated from the Vicariate of Belgian Congo and formed into a prefecture Apostolic on July 1, 1911, and confided to the Redemptorists. Its boundaries are: on the north, the Congo from the mouth of the Kodio to that of the Binza, then the Binza to its source; next a line from that point to the mouth of the Binza-Nzau, finally the Congo to the Prefecture Apostolic of Kwango; on the east, the Prefecture of Kwango; on the south, the Belgian Congo frontier; on the west, the Bidizi to its source, thence a line through the mountains to the source of the Lukokote; then the course of the Lukokote and the Kodia to the Congo. R. P. Joseph Heintz was appointed the first prefect Apostolic on August 1, 1911.
NAMAQUALAND, GREAT, South Africa.—The boundary between the Prefectures of Great Namaqualand and Lower Cimbebasia was changed on June 2, 1913 and is now the southern limits of the districts of Gobabis, Windhuk, Karibib, and Swakopmund.
NIGERIA, EASTERN, in Equatorial Africa.—By a Decree dated August 24, 1911, the mission of the Upper Niger was divided into two parts, following the 8° E. long.; the name Upper Niger was dropped and the two missions called Eastern and Western Nigeria. Both were made prefectures Apostolic. The eastern mission was entrusted to the Lyons Society of African Missions. R. P. Oswald Waller, b. at Bennwihr, Alsatia, January 24, 1866; ordained, July 10, 1892, sent to the mission in Egypt, then to Dahomey in 1898, and to Nigeria in 1906; was appointed first prefect Apostolic on September 26, 1911. He resides at Shendam, Demshi.
NYGATA, in Japan.—This mission was erected into a prefecture Apostolic on August 13, 1912, and committed to the care of the Society of the Divine Word, of Steyl. It comprises the Provinces of Akita, Yamagata, Nygata, formerly part of the Diocese of Hakodate; and Toyama, Ishikawa, and Fukui, part of the Archdiocese of Tokio and the Diocese of Osaka. On November 19, 1912, R. P. Joseph Reiners was appointed the first prefect Apostolic. He resides at Nygata.
PUTUMAYO, in Peru.—This mission was erected into a prefecture Apostolic on October 4, 1912, and was confided to the Friars Minor; R. P. Leo Sambook was appointed first prefect Apostolic in November, 1912. The establishment of this mission was the outcome of the agitation stirred up in the British Parliament by a detailed account of the atrocities perpetrated on the unfortunate Indians by the officials of a British rubber company operating in Putumayo, a distant district of Peru, at the head waters of the Amazon. For years this company had forced the Indians to collect crude rubber for them in the forests, and enforced their orders by tortures and scourging, inflicted by negro overseers imported from the Barbados for the purpose. Even women and children were not spared. The charges made by Sir Roger Casement, who visited the district at the request of the British Government, were in the main corroborated by the report of Romulo Paredes, a special independent investigator sent to the region by the Peruvian Government. For years the few missionaries in the district had appealed to the Peruvian authorities, when the opportunity presented itself, to protect the Indians, but until the agitation provoked by the revelations in England occurred and action was taken by the British and United States governments, no attention was paid to their petitions on behalf of the suffering natives.
TEFFA, in Brazil, erected by a Decree dated May 23, 1910, when together with the prefecture Apostolic of Upper Solimoes it was separated from the Diocese of Amazonas or Manaos. The missions in Teffe and and Upper Solimoes were undertaken in 1897 by the Fathers of the Holy Ghost and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, under R. P. Libermann at the request of Msgr. da Costa-Aguiar, Bishop of Amazonas, whose immense diocese erected only five years earlier was practically devoid of priests. The first mission was established by R. P. Berthon in June, 1907 at Teffe, a town on the Amazon 700 miles from Manaos, and 1600 miles from the Atlantic. It is situated at the confluence of the Teffe and the Solimoes (or Upper Amazon), opposite the mouth of the Japura; the missionaries have been greatly aided in their work by the cooperation of the local government authorities. They have established at Teff’ a large orphanage and industrial school for the young Indians, on a site donated for the purpose by the municipal authorities. The first prefect Apostolic is R. P. Michel-Alfred Barat, b. at Clermont, France, on November 12, 1864; missionary in the Amazon district since 1897; appointed superior of the prefecture in May, 1910.
TRIPOLI.—This prefecture was erected into the Vicariate Apostolic of Libya by a Decree dated February 23, 1913.
WELLE.—By a Decree of December 18, 1911, the Prefecture Apostolic of Welle was divided into Eastern and Western Welle; the line of separation being the 26° 30′ E. long. Each division was made a prefecture Apostolic. Western Welle remained under the care of the Premonstratensians of the Abbey of Tongerloo, Belgium. Eastern Welle was entrusted to the Dominicans; its first prefect Apostolic is R. P. Reginald Van Schoote, who was appointed on January 12, 1912. He resides at Amadi.
ZAMBESI.—The eastern boundary of the Zambesi mission was changed by a Decree of June 28, 1912, and is now: the Portuguese Mozambique territory to 15° S. lat., then the rivers Luangwa, Lukasashi and Mlembo as far as the southeast corner of Belgian Congo.
A. A. MACERLEAN