Iringa, Apostolic Vicariate of

IRINGA, APOSTOLIC VICARIATE OF. - It is located in British East Africa, in the southern part of Tanganyika north of Lake Nyassa, and is entrusted to the Institute of the Consolata Missions. It derives from the apostolic vicariate of Dar-es-Salaam, from which on 3 March 1922 a part of the territory was detached and erected into an apostolic prefecture under the name of I. On 8 January 1948 this was elevated to an apostolic vicariate without any change either of name or of boundaries.

The vicariate has an area of approximately 50,000 sq km. In the year 1948 it had a population of approximately 310,000 inhabitants, of whom 23,317 are Catholics (23,133 natives, 155 foreigners, 29 of mixed race), 2,465 catechumens, 30,000 Protestants, 7,200 Muslims, approximately 247,000 pagans; 2 native priests, 36 foreign missionaries, 12 foreign lay brothers, 65 native sisters, 54 foreign sisters, 213 catechists, 34 male teachers and 36 female teachers, 10 major seminarians, 1 minor seminary with 22 pupils, 15 principal stations, 3 secondary stations, 7 churches, 10 chapels, 1 hospital with 30 beds, 13 dispensaries with 89,504 consultations in the year, 12 orphanages with 255 orphans of both sexes, 4 homes for the aged, a leprosarium, 5 nursery schools, a maternity home and a school of midwifery, 27 elementary schools with 3,770 and 2 secondary schools with 196 pupils of both sexes; two vocational schools with 69 pupils, 182 prayer schools. Catholic Action is in its first steps in 5 stations. - See plate XII.

Carlo Corvo