MWANZA, VICARIATE APOSTOLIC OF. - It is located in the northern part of the territory of Tanganyika, south of Lake Victoria; it comprises the districts of M. (except the circumscriptions of Nassa and Masanza), Kwimba, Shinyanga and the islands of Ukara and Ukerewe, as well as the mainland part of the latter district. It is entrusted to the Society of Missionaries of Africa ([v.] White Fathers), to which the region of the great lakes was assigned on 14 Feb. 1878.
In 1879 those missionaries arrived there and began to spread the work of evangelization despite difficulties of every kind. On 27 Sept. 1880 the pro-vicariate of Nyanza was erected, which comprised a vast territory (Uganda and part of Kenya, of Tanganyika and of the Belgian Congo) and which on 31 May 1883 was elevated to an apostolic vicariate under the name of Victoria Nyanza (after the territories of the Belgian Congo and others to the north toward Sudan and Kaffa had already been detached from it), and divided on 13 July 1894 into the three apostolic vicariates of Upper Nile, Northern Victoria Nyanza and Southern Victoria Nyanza. The latter, after several modifications of boundaries and reductions of territory, took (15 Jan. 1915) the name of Victoria Nyanza which, subjected anew to other modifications of boundaries and reductions of territory, finally received the new name of M. when (10 Apr. 1929) the vicariate of Bukoba (v.) was separated from it. It was divided lastly on 11 Apr. 1946, when with its eastern and northern part the apostolic vicariate of Musoma Maswa was erected (now the apostolic vicariate of Maswa [v.], because on 24 June 1950 Musoma [v.] was made an apostolic prefecture). By a decree of the same date there was a rectification of boundaries with the apostolic vicariate of Maswa. The oldest missionary station currently existing in the apostolic vicariate of M. is that of Bukumbi, whose foundation dates back to 1883.
The apostolic vicariate of M. currently has an area of 29,330 sq. km. with a population, according to the computations made in 1948, of 818,600 inhabitants. The statistics of 1950 give 29,327 native Catholics plus 94 foreign and 14 of mixed stock, 11,590 catechumens, 9,850 Protestants, 13,960 Muslims, ca. 758,100 pagans; 17 native priests, 32 foreign, 8 foreign lay brothers, 19 foreign sisters; 1 minor seminary; 244 catechists, 109 teachers, 1 doctor; 6 graduate nurses; 5 quasi-parishes, 13 principal and 218 secondary missionary stations, 7 churches and 229 chapels, 4 hospitals, 7 dispensaries; 2 exode: 27 elementary, 1 middle, 2 vocational, 2 normal; 1 periodical with a circulation of 4,700 copies annually; 18 associations of Catholic Action.
In 1950 there were 707 baptisms of adults.