BANGUEOLO, APOSTOLIC VICARIATE of. — This vicariate, entrusted to the White Fathers, was erected on 28 January 1913, its territory having been detached from that of Nyassa (Northern Rhodesia). Its area is 135,000 sq km. The vicariate began with little more than 700 Catholics and 16,446 catechumens out of a total population of 600,000–700,000.
The greatest difficulty was, and still is, posed by the scourge of divorce, sometimes sanctioned by traditional superstitions. Another difficulty, which arose after the war of 1914–18 and grew worse between 1927 and 1931, was the emigration of many young people to the mines of Katanga, South Africa and, nearer at hand, Ndola, in Rhodesia itself. The phenomenon affected the mission, which was concerned about family morality, placed under severe strain by the prolonged absence of the male element. Another major issue—one that, moreover, was resolved with a favorable outcome—was the adaptation of school facilities to the new government regulations: the government observes perfect impartiality between Catholics and Protestants. In 1923, that is, ten years after its creation, the vicariate already had 31,501 Catholics and more than 20,000 catechumens, with 33 missionaries, 8 nuns and 316 catechists. In 1931–32, owing to the economic crisis that led to the closure of several mines, the mission was able to see many emigrants return to their homes. In 1937 part of its territory was transferred to Lwangwa (v.). According to the statistics for 1947, the vicariate has a population of approximately 500,000 inhabitants, of whom 126,358 are indigenous Catholics and 16 are foreign. There are 8,520 catechumens. Protestants number 17,000, Muslims 150 and pagans 240,000. There are 59 priests, 13 brothers, 36 nuns and numerous catechists. There are 142 elementary schools with 13,582 pupils; 19 secondary schools with 862 pupils; and 2 teacher-training schools with 81 pupils.