SARAWAK, APOSTOLIC PREFECTURE of. — It is situated in the southwestern part of British Borneo.
The territories of S., Brunei, North Borneo, and the Island of Labuan were erected as a prefecture on 27 Aug. 1855 under the name of Labuan and North Borneo. Its first apostolic prefect was the Spanish priest d. Carlos Cuarterón, who in 1879 left the mission to return to his homeland. In 1881, the Fathers of the Society of St Joseph of Mill Hill arrived in British Borneo to assume responsibility for the same prefecture, where they continue to work. On 5 Feb. 1927, the mission was divided into the two prefectures of S. and North Borneo, which on 14 Feb. 1952 were raised to apostolic vicariates, respectively of Kuching and Jesselton. On the same date, the territory of Brunei was detached from the vicariate of Jesselton and annexed to that of Kuching. The region of S. obtained the legal status of “British Crown Colony” in 1946 and is administered by a British governor. It covers an area of 130,000 sq. km. and has a population of 546,000. It is divided into five administrative divisions, each headed by a British “resident.” The same divisions are in turn subdivided into districts, headed by a “district officer.”
According to the Prospectus Status Missionis, 1950-51, there are 13,755 Catholics and 3,189 catechumens; 27 priests, one of them indigenous; 5 brothers; 54 sisters, both foreign and native; and 6 minor seminarians. The construction of the seminary is nearing completion. There are 39 catechists; 132 teachers; 3 hospitals; 3 dispensaries; 1 orphanage; 1 home for the elderly; 47 elementary schools; and 2 secondary schools. This mission suffered considerable damage as a result of the war, but the zeal of the Mill Hill Fathers soon succeeded in carrying out the work of reconstruction and in imparting a moderate degree of progress to the missionary movement.