MASAKA, APOSTOLIC VICARIATE of. - It is situated in the southern part of the Uganda Protectorate, on the western shore of Lake Victoria. It was erected on 25 May 1939 with territory detached Uganda (v.). It is entrusted to the native secular clergy, and its apostolic vicar is the first native bishop of the Latin rite (Mons. Giuseppe Kiwanuka) in continental Africa, who nevertheless belongs to the Society of the Missionaries of Africa.
It has an area of approximately 8,000 sq. km., with a population of approximately 386,000 inhabitants, of whom 137,362 are Catholics and 4,500 catechumens; more than 47,000 Protestants; more than 33,000 Mohammedans; and 67,500 pagans; 52 native secular priests, 19 White Fathers; 209 nuns, of whom 16 are foreign and 195 native; 1 major and 1 minor seminary; 67 educational institutions; 216 churches; 3 charitable institutions. Associations of charity and Catholic Action are likewise flourishing.