GAMBIA, MISSION and SUI IURIS of. - It is situated in the eponymous colony of British West Africa at the mouth of the G. River; it borders on the Apostolic Vicariate of Dakar and the Apostolic Prefecture of Ziguinchor. It shares with the missions of Senegambia and Senegal (today the Apostolic Vicariate of Dakar and the Apostolic Prefecture of St. Louis of Senegal) the history of its evangelization, having been detached only on 6 May 1931 from the other Apostolic Prefecture of Senegal.
It has a tropical and malarial climate, an area of 10,000 sq. km. and a population of about 300,000 inhabitants of Sudanese Negro race. The seat of the Ordinary is Bathurst. As of 1948, it has 335 indigenous Catholics, 100 foreign Catholics, and 100 of mixed race, 718 catechumens, 16 dissidents of Eastern rite, 250 Protestants, 2 Jews, 193,274 Muslims, 21 Catholic schools, 17 male teachers and 14 female teachers, 20 male baptizers and 4 female baptizers, 4 main missionary stations and 21 secondary ones, 2 churches and 4 chapels, 6 elementary schools with 683 pupils, 2 secondary schools with 215 pupils, one profession school with 15 pupils, 2 for catechists with 24 pupils, 16 prayer groups with 600 pupils. There are associations of Catholic Action.