Gambia, Mission "Sui Iuris" of

GAMBIA, MISSIONE « SUI IURIS » di. - It is located in the colony of the same name in British West Africa at the mouth of the river G.; it borders on the apostolic vicariate of Dakar and on 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 own evangelization, having been detached only on 6 May 1931 from the then apostolic prefecture of Senegal.

It has a tropical and malarial climate, an area of 10,400 sq. km. and a population of about 300,000 inhabitants of the Sudanese black race. The seat of the Ordinary is Bathurst. It counts (year 1948) 3,355 indigenous Catholics, 100 foreign and 100 of mixed stock, 718 catechumens, 16 dissidents of the Eastern rite, 3,500 Protestants, 2 Jews, 101,274 Muslims, 21 catechists, 17 male and 14 female teachers, 20 male and 4 female baptizers, 4 principal and 21 secondary mission stations, 2 churches and 4 chapels, 6 elementary schools with 683 pupils, 2 higher schools with 215 pupils, one vocational school with 15 female pupils, 2 for catechists with 24 pupils, 16 prayer schools with 600 pupils. There are associations of Catholic Action.