BENGASI, APOSTOLIC VICARIATE. — Cyrenaica as an autonomous mission began in 1927 with the division Libya (v.); in 1939, with the creation Derna (v.), which removed from it the eponymous province, the territory of the Cyrenaican mission was reduced by half, and the vicariate took its name from the vicariate residence, B. Its first vicar was Msgr. Bernardino Bigi (1927–30), who in 1929 blessed the cornerstone of the new cathedral, then provided churches for the new centers that lacked them and, in order to strengthen the mission’s activity, appealed to the Franciscan province of the Marches, to which he entrusted the care of the eastern part (Derna) of the mission.
When Msgr. Bigi died in Mogadishu in 1930, his successor, Msgr. Candido Moro, continued and intensified the spiritual, educational, and charitable activity. The apostolate has the metropolitan character of pastoral care rather than the missionary character of spreading the Gospel among unbelievers; indeed, the attitude of the Muslims toward the mission, especially since the time of Msgr. Bigi, has been among the most correct, and even cordial, while the mission does its utmost to reach their hearts—with tact and without friction—through its varied educational, charitable, and spiritual activity of prayer.
In June 1939, when the eastern part was detached in order to create a separate jurisdiction, the vicariate of B. comprised 30 Franciscan fathers and 8 Franciscan Brothers, 9 Brothers of the Christian Schools, and 103 sisters belonging to four different religious congregations. The Catholics numbered 40,441, all Italians, distributed among 21 parishes and 5 secondary stations. In recent years the mission has suffered the repercussions of the war—Cyrenaica was much more severely affected than Tripolitania—and the activity of the vicar, the Fathers, and the sisters, all of whom remained at their posts, was completely absorbed in providing material, moral, and spiritual assistance to the population. As a result of the events of the last world war, the situation of the vicariate has changed considerably. According to the 1948 statistics, there are 570 Catholics and 2 catechumens, 10 missionaries, 3 brothers, and 44 sisters. There are 2 elementary schools with 180 pupils. The mission publishes several monthly periodicals: La Cirenaica cristiana, La fiaccola, the latter being the organ of Catholic Action, and Luce e vita.