KEEWATIN, APOSTOLIC VICARIATE of (Canada). — It was erected by the Sacred Consistorial Congregation on 4 March 1910, with territory detached from the archdiocese of S. Bonifacio. It comprises almost the entire northern part of the provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario.
In the western part of the vicariate lies the oldest mission in northwestern Canada, that of Ile-à-la Crusse, founded in 1846 by Fr. Alessandro A. Taché (1823–94) and Abbé Flèche, two future bishops, who devoted all their energies to the conversion of the Métis, Cris, Montagnais, and Canadian adventurers. The eastern part, on the other hand, was completely abandoned until the vicariate was erected, because of the hostility shown toward the entry of missionaries by agents of the Hudson’s Bay Company, who did not want any religion other than Protestantism to be preached. As the power of that Company gradually declined, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, to whom the mission was entrusted, were able to establish the first missionary station at Chesterfield Inlet and, within a few years, to administer the first baptisms; these were subsequently followed by others on the arrival of the first apostolic vicar (1912). Progress was constant, and today, out of a population of 29,305 inhabitants, there are 10,000 Catholics grouped in 27 primary and 26 secondary stations, each of which has its own church or chapel. The O.M.I. Fathers number 41, assisted by 30 brothers and 130 sisters. The charitable institutions are distributed as follows: 3 hospitals with 185 beds, 2 orphanages with 154 places, and 6 pharmacies with an average of 3,500 consultations annually. The apostolic work is arduous because of the great extent of the territory (550,000 sq. km.), the severity of the climate, and the intense Protestant propaganda; the missionaries’ zeal, however, succeeds in continually winning converts to the Catholic faith.
el-KEF: V. SICCA VENERIA.