NDANDA, ABBEY NULLIUS OF. — On the southern coast of the territory of Tanganyika. It is immediately subject to the Holy See and entrusted to the Benedictine Congregation of Saint Ottilien. It comprises the districts of Lindi, Mikindani, Ruponda, Newala, Masasi, and Tunduru.
It was erected on 22 December 1931, when the abbey nullius of Lindi (now of Peramihò [q.v.]) was divided. At the time of the division, there were already seven mission stations in the territory of N., the oldest of which (Pilipili Hill, at Lindi), was founded in 1894 by Benedictines from Dar es Salaam. The mission station of N., on the river of the same name seventy miles from the coast, dates to 1906 and, given its position near the Lukuledi valley, has become the center of the others as well.
The abbey nullius of N. has an area of approximately 52,000 km² and approximately 450,000 inhabitants, of whom 28,599 are indigenous Catholics, 125 foreign Catholics, and 2 of mixed descent, 3,095 catechumens, 10 Eastern dissenters, approximately 300,000 Protestants, approximately 300,000 Muslims, and 90,000 pagans. There are one Indian priest and 34 foreign priests, 35 lay brothers, 11 seminarians trained at the Abbey of Peramihò, a preparatory seminary, 3 indigenous sisters, 30 foreign sisters, 278 catechists, 138 male teachers and 9 female teachers, 2 medical sisters (Benedictine sisters of Tutzing), and 14 qualified nurses. Principal stations: 18; secondary stations: 12; churches: 10; chapels: 11; hospitals: 9; dispensaries: 11; leper hospitals: 3; orphanages: 12. Elementary schools: 37; middle schools: 1; secondary school: 1, approved by the government in 1947 for the higher education of the youth of the entire southern province of Tanganyika. One, founded in 1935 to train teachers, and a third, normal school, to train teachers. There are important workshops. The great development achieved by the flourishing abbey is due in large part to the organizational spirit of the first abbot nullius of N., Monsignor Gioacchino Ammann, who resigned in 1949 for reasons of health. In 1950, adult baptisms numbered 542. Missionary apostolate has recently encountered new difficulties due to the scarcity of personnel and the new demands imposed by the government with the so-called Groundnut Scheme, as well as the continuous immigration that makes spiritual care of many families more difficult. Moreover, especially in the region of Mahonda, a bitter struggle waged by Muslims against Catholicism continues.