RWANDA, APOSTOLIC VICARIATE OF. - Located at the northern end of Lake Tanganyika, it is under Belgian mandate and administratively united with the Belgian Congo.
Having remained, together with the territory of Urundi, strongly xenophobic and closed both to whites and to Muslims, the latter of whom were never able to raid it for slaves except quite rarely on the shores of the lake, it was explored in 1894 by the German Goetzen, who discovered Lake Kivu. The White Fathers reached it at the beginning of the 20th century, coming from Urundi, and although amid grave difficulties they brought back excellent fruits of apostolate. In 1913 the R.-Urundi, which since 1878 had formed part of the apostolic pro-vicariate of Tanganyika and since 1886 had been annexed to the immense apostolic vicariate of Unyanemke, became the apostolic vicariate of Kivu (v.) and on 25 April 1922 was divided into the two vicariates of R. and of Urundi. And while the latter on 14 July 1949 was split into the two apostolic vicariates of Kitega and of Ngozi (v.), in its turn that of R. on 14 February 1952 was subdivided into the two vicariates of Kabgayi and of Nyundo. The apostolic vicariate of Kabgayi, which extends over about 20,950 sq km in the south-eastern part of the territory of R. and among a population of about 1,531,000 inhabitants, of whom over 327,700 are Catholics and over 189,700 catechumens, has remained entrusted to the White Fathers; the apostolic vicariate of Nyundo instead, which comprises the north-western zone of the territory of R. and has an area of about 3,100 sq km with a population of about 360,000 inhabitants, of whom over 45,300 are Catholics and over 22,500 catechumens, has been entrusted to the native clergy, very numerous in the region. In reality in R. the native priests number 89, exceeding the foreign priests, who number 88. It is therefore a most flourishing region from the missionary standpoint, where the evangelical seed has made wonderful progress, which finds few comparisons in the history of the Church and in the other missions currently scattered throughout the world. - See plate LXXXVII.
Bibliography6 works
Carlo Corvo