BENGHAZI, APOSTOLIC VICARIATE OF. - Cyrenaica as an autonomous mission begins in 1927 with the division of the old vicariate of Libya (v.); in 1939, with the creation of the apostolic vicariate of Derna (v.), which took away from it the province of the same name, the territory of the Cyrenaican mission was left halved, and the vicariate took its name from the vicarial residence, B. Its first vicar was Msgr. Bernardino Bigi (1927-30), who in 1929 blessed the foundation stone of the new Cathedral, then provided churches for the new centers that lacked them, and, in order to cement the activity of the mission, 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 1930 in Mogadishu, his successor Msgr. Candido Moro continued and intensified the spiritual, scholastic and charitable activity. The apostolate has the metropolitan character of the care of souls rather than the missionary character of spreading the Gospel among unbelievers; indeed the attitude of the Muslims toward the mission has been, especially from the time of Msgr. Bigi, among the most correct, and even cordial, while the mission does its utmost to reach - with delicacy and without friction - their hearts, through its manifold scholastic, charitable, and spiritual activity of prayer.
As of June 1939, the date on which the eastern part was detached to create a separate circumscription, the vicariate of B. counted 30 Franciscan fathers and 8 brothers, 9 Brothers of the Christian Schools, and 103 sisters from four different religious Congregations. The Catholics numbered 40,441, all Italians, distributed in 21 parishes and 5 secondary stations. In recent years the mission has suffered the backlash of the war - Cyrenaica was far more tried than Tripolitania - and the activity of the vicar, of the Fathers and of the sisters, all of whom remained at their posts, was completely absorbed by material, moral and spiritual assistance to the populations. Following the events of the last world war, the situation of the vicariate has turned out much changed. According to the statistics of 1948 the Catholics number 570 with 2 catechumens, missionaries 10, brothers 3, sisters 44. Elementary schools 2 with 180 pupils. The mission publishes several monthly periodicals: La Cirenaica cristiana, La fiaccola, the latter the organ of Catholic Action, and Luce e vita.