Gao, Apostolic Prefecture of

GAO, APOSTOLIC PREFECTURE OF. - In French West Africa. It was erected on 9 June 1942 and entrusted to the White Fathers. The territory was detached from the apostolic vicariates of Bamako, Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso and covered an area of about 700,000 sq km, entirely within the colony of French Sudan, and comprising a Saharan or Nigerian zone and a Sudanese zone to the south. On 12 June 1947 the Sudanese zone was detached from its territory to form the new apostolic prefecture of Nouna, and thus the territory of G. was reduced to about 565,000 sq km. It is crossed by the Niger from west to east.

The climate is hot and dry and the rainfall is not very abundant. The terrain is sandy with few trees. The population clusters are scattered along the Niger River, which, although it is an easy route of communication, does not help to make the area fertile. The population exceeds half a million, of whom a part are nomadic. They are of the white and black races. The indigenous Catholics number 24 and the foreigners about 290. The rest are Muslims, who, after crossing the Sahara with the ancient caravans of trahi, moved up the Niger from the 15th and 16th centuries to take possession of the Sudan. In the south-western part there is the rocky zone of Bandiagara inhabited by the tribe of the Habè (singular Kado), who are still animists (150,000 inhabitants) but are slowly becoming Islamized. Only at G. is there a quasi-parish. A few other secondary stations are in operation. The apostolate is very difficult both because of the ease with which the population moves and because almost all are Muslims, although rather liberal and given to superstitions.

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