Guadalupe

GUADALUPA. — G. is the largest (1,509 sq. km) of the Lesser Antilles.

Together with the nearby islands of Marie-Galante, Les Saintes, Petite-Terre, Désirade, G. Bartolomeo, and the French part of S. Martino (a total of 1,780 sq. km, with 270,000 inhabitants, mostly mulattoes and Blacks; whites make up scarcely 8%), it has formed a French département since 1947. The capital is Basse-Terre (14,000 inhabitants), but the most important centre, and also the best port, is Pointe-à-Pitre (45,000 inhabitants), both on the island of G. The islands produce sugar cane (from which rum is extracted), bananas, coffee, cocoa, pineapples, and vanilla, which are the principal export items. The extensive and rich forests are little exploited; livestock breeding (cattle) is moderately developed. For the map of the ecclesiastical districts, V. ill. ANTILLE, I, cols. 1449–50.

THE DIOCESE OF G. — Of the island of G., discovered by C. Colombo in 1493, the Spaniards took no interest, whereas the French took possession of it in 1635, landing there 500 colonists accompanied by 4 Dominican fathers. In the same year an apostolic prefect was appointed for the Dominican missions in G. and the adjacent islands. In 1646 the Capuchins arrived, establishing their principal center on the island of S. Cristoforo, and two years later the Jesuits, who were subsequently expelled in 1764. The Carmelites arrived on the island in 1681 and were authorized to take charge of parishes. In 1789 there were 32 parishes and 33 missionaries on the island for 101,971 inhabitants, of whom 13,466 were white, 5,044 people of color, and 85,461 slaves. During the French Revolution, Catholicism suffered greatly: the apostolic prefectures were suppressed and the activities of religious orders restricted. After several attempts to reach an agreement with the government in Paris, in 1821, with the approval of the civil authorities, it was finally possible to appoint an apostolic prefect. The territory was established as a suffragan diocese of Bordeaux on 27 September 1850; it passed under the jurisdiction of the S. Congregation of Propaganda Fide in 1909 and was entrusted to the Congregation of the Holy Spirit on 4 March 1912. The diocese has an area of 1,780 sq. km. and numbers 312,000 inhabitants, almost all of them Catholics. There are 1,400 Protestants and approximately 300 pagans.

According to the statistical data for 1949, 53 Fathers of the Holy Spirit and 3 Dominicans were working in G.; there were 6 brothers and 209 nuns, and 213 catechists. There are 38 parishes and 3 parish districts. The schools are divided into 7 primary schools with 834 children; 2 middle schools with 719 pupils; 2 secondary schools with 472 pupils; 38 churches, 11 chapels, 1 hospital and 2 pharmacies, 3 nursery schools, and 1 periodical, Clarités, with a circulation of 5,000 copies.