KOANGO, APOSTOLIC VICARIATE of. — Situated in the southwestern part of the Belgian Congo and entrusted to the Society of Jesus. It derives from the former apostolic vicariate of the Independent or Belgian Congo (v. LÉOPOLDVILLE), from which a portion was detached on 8 Apr. 1892 and established as a mission sui iuris under the name of K., then elevated to an apostolic prefecture on 31 Jan. 1903. Its boundaries were modified with the apostolic vicariate of Upper Kassai (v. LULLABOURG) on 2 March 1921 and with the apostolic vicariate of Léopoldville on 29 Jan. 1924; it was elevated to an apostolic vicariate on 28 March 1928. On 1 Apr. 1931 Kisantu (v.) was detached from II. It has an area of approximately 100,000 sq km.
Here are its principal statistical data for 1949: inhabitants, over 840,000, of whom 203,834 were indigenous Catholics, 563 foreign Catholics, 36,053 catechumens, approximately 40,000 Protestants, and over 560,000 pagans; 14 indigenous priests, 68 foreign priests with 10 scholastics and 11 novices, 24 indigenous lay brothers, 28 foreign lay brothers, 12 indigenous sisters with 3 novices, 105 foreign sisters, 26 major seminarians, educated at the regional Seminary of Kisantu, one minor seminary with 51 pupils, 2167 catechists, 1910 male teachers, 203 female teachers; 2 quasi-parishes, 20 principal mission stations, 115 secondary stations, 110 churches, 1500 chapels, 16 hospitals with 700 beds, 25 dispensaries with 765,314 consultations, 3 orphanages with
78 orphans; 1 printing press, which prints two periodicals in a total of 9000 copies, 1857 schools with 56,606 pupils of both sexes. Catholic Action flourishes there.