ALIWAL, APOSTOLIC VICARIATE OF. — In South Africa; it was erected on 21 February 1926, by the elevation of the Apostolic Prefecture of Gariep, established on 12 June 1923, with the southern part of the Vicariate of Kimberley (Orange Free State) and the northern part of the Vicariate of Cape of Good Hope, Eastern District. It is entrusted to the Priests of the Sacred Heart (St-Quentin), who entered Gariep in 1923, establishing their centre of operations in Aliwal North.
Area: 100,000 sq. km. Out of a total population of approximately 300,000 (census 1933), in 1939 there were counted 160,000 Protestants, 132,000 pagans (Kosa, Basuto, Fingo), 7,088 Catholics (4,817 indigenous, 837 mixed-race) and 1,595 catechumens. Churches and chapels: 20. Priests of the Sacred Heart: 22, besides two secular priests, and five Brothers of the Sacred Heart; 185 sisters from three different congregations. There exists a major and minor seminary with 18 students.
The school system is fairly well developed (63 schools of various levels with 2,765 pupils). The Catholic social action, grouped into 30 associations under the aegis of the “Catholic African Union,” integrates religious activity with its beneficial influence.