LOWER CALIFORNIA, APOSTOLIC VICARIATE OF. - The Baja California peninsula (Mexico) was under the jurisdiction of the diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles (now Monterey-Fresno) until the erection of the apostolic vicariate in 1874, which was entrusted to the secular clergy. Its evangelization began in 1550 and came to a halt with the revolutions of the 19th century and the anticlericalism of the last fifty years, which hindered any serious work.
The people are good and very religious: it is common to see people of every condition, sex, and age praying in public with arms outstretched in the form of a cross, dragging themselves on their knees from the church door to the altar, and going to Communion wearing large scapulars of the various confraternities. Since 1939 the vicariate has been entrusted to the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit, mostly Mexicans, who devote their activities to the northern part of the territory; since early 1948, the fathers of the African Missions of Verona have been working in the south. Overall, the works of the mission are well underway.
The total population amounts to about 240,000 inhabitants, most of whom are Catholic, with 3,000 pagans and an unspecified number of Protestants. There are 32 priests: Missionaries of the Holy Spirit, Verona Fathers, and Friars Minor. The seminary has about 60 students. There are thirteen communities of nuns who run several small schools and aid stations. There are twelve quasi-parishes, seventeen churches, and thirteen chapels.