NEW HEBRIDES, Apostolic Vicariate of the. - In southern Melanesia (northeast of New Caledonia), under Franco-British condominium. The territory, detached from the apostolic vicariate of New Caledonia, was erected as an apostolic prefecture on 9 February 1904 and as an apostolic vicariate on 22 March 1904, entrusted to the Society of Mary.

The first missionaries reached there in 1848 from New Caledonia; but an effective work of penetration began only through the Marists in 1887, when the Protestants already occupied the entire south of the archipelago as far as the island of Vaté. The four missionaries, led by Fr. Pionnier, settled at Port Sandwich, Baie-Bananune (Mallicolo), Port-Olry (Santo) and Mélé (Vaté). The first attempts were very hard, especially because of the savage customs of the inhabitants and the numerous secret sects.

The vicariate has an area of 11,202 sq km, with 49,389 inhabitants, of whom native Catholics 3,711, foreigners 827, Annamites 371, catechumens 2,144, Protestants 11,500. Marist missionaries 17, brothers 1, sisters 49, catechists 54. Districts 7, primary stations 15, secondary 12, churches 9, chapels 18, hospitals 2. Elementary schools 15, dispensaries 3. Various works of charity and of Catholic Action.

Bibliography5 works

BIBL.: J. Hervier, Les missions Maristes en Océanie, Paris 1902, pp. 249-58; V. Douceré, La Mission catholique, aux Nouvelles Hébrides, Lyon 1934; C. Renaud, Seul chez les Canadiens, Jean Godefroy, apôtres des cannibales, Paris 1938; J. Boesch, Die Maristenmission der Neuen Hebriden, in Kreuz und Karitas, 47 (Heppen 1939), passim; MC, 1950, p. 480.

Saverio Paventi

@incollection{ec8_nuove_ebridi_vicariato_apostol, author = {Paventi, Saverio}, title = {Nuove Ebridi, vicariato apostolico delle isole}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {VIII}, pages = {2040}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1952}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/nuove-ebridi-vicariato-apostolico-delle-isole} }

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New Hebrides, Apostolic Vicariate of the

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