Kisumu, Apostolic Vicariate of

KISUMU, APOSTOLIC VICARIATE OF. - Located in the western part of Kenya (British East Africa), and entrusted to the Society of St. Joseph of Mill Hill for Foreign Missions. It derives from the apostolic vicariate of the Upper Nile, from which on 15 July 1925 the territory of the Kavirondo was detached and erected into an apostolic prefecture. The said prefecture of Kavirondo developed rapidly and on 27 May 1932 was elevated to an apostolic vicariate under the name of K. It has an area of 65,000 sq km.

Here are the statistical data for 1949: pop. over 1,520,000, of whom 222,166 are indigenous Catholics, 972 foreign Catholics, 29,673 catechumens; indigenous priests 6, foreign 85, indigenous brothers 2, foreign 4, indigenous sisters 49 with 121 novices, foreign sisters 51, major seminarians 7, one minor seminary with 80 pupils, catechists 957, female catechists 15, male teachers 442, female teachers 59; nearly 34 parishes, 153 secondary mission stations, 34 churches, 153 chapels, 7 maternity homes, with 160 beds. Orphanages 5 with 10 orphans and 36 orphan girls, schools 533 with 31,897 pupils of both sexes, prayer schools 862 with 15,279 male pupils and 14,394 female pupils. Catholic Action flourishes there.

Carlo Corvo