MANADO, APOSTOLIC VICARIATE of. — In the northern part of the island of Celebes (Indonesia), it was erected as the apostolic prefecture of Celebes on 19 November 1919, by separation from the apostolic vicariate of Batavia (today Djakarta); it was elevated to the apostolic vicariate of Celebes on 1 February 1934, and on 13 April 1937 it assumed its present designation of M., when the apostolic prefecture (today apostolic vicariate) of Makassar was detached from II.
The first to preach the Catholic faith in this region, in 1563, was the Jesuit Diego Magelhaes. Other Jesuits succeeded one another between 1568 and 1608, followed by the Franciscans, but not without difficulties and interruptions on account of the expansion of Dutch rule. The inhabitants, ethnographically speaking, belong to the Malay type, mixed with Mongolian and Chinese elements.
Over an area of 90,597 sq. km., it has 1,400,000 inhabitants, of whom 33,000 are Catholics, 700,000 Muslims, 500,000 Protestants, and 100,000 pagans. Since 1934 the Protestant Church has been constituted sui iuris, but in addition to this official Church there are many other, less important sects, such as, for example, Adventists, the Salvation Army, Pentecostals, etc. The western part of the mission is almost entirely Muslim and Protestant. The official language is Malay, called Indonesian. The vicariate has 109 churches and chapels, of which 4 are parishes, served by 3 national priests and 32 religious, assisted by 2 male and 5 female religious communities. It has 88 schools and 14 charitable and welfare institutions. Two newspapers are published there: Gredja Katolik, since 1903, and Rankoian Pemuda, since 1945. According to the local civil laws, the mission enjoys juridical personality. It is entrusted to the Society of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.