On 17 July 1832, Fr. Henri de Solages, Apostolic Prefect of the Island of Bourbon (now the islands of La Réunion), disembarked at T. to travel to Tananarive to meet Queen Ranavalona I and obtain permission to preach the Gospel. The missionary died of hardship on 8 December 1832 along the way. He was succeeded by Fr. M. Dalmond, who managed to form a small Christian community on the island of Sainte-Marie. Other attempts followed, all without success. After the Queen’s death on 16 August 1861, King Radama II granted full freedom to preach Christianity, and missionaries from the island of Bourbon immediately arrived. During the wars of the French against the Hova, T. became a refuge for missionaries from the interior.
On 18 June 1935, to preserve and even expand the already established Christian communities, the Apostolic Prefecture of Vatomandry was erected, with territory detached from the Apostolic Vicariates of Tananarive and Fianarantsoa, and entrusted to the Missionary Priests of the Company of Mary (Montfort). On 25 May 1939, it was elevated to the Apostolic Vicariate of T. with the annexation of territory detached from the Apostolic Vicariates of Tananarive and Diego Suarez.
It has an area of approximately 32,200 sq. km. and a population of approximately 386,600 inhabitants, of whom 48,179 are Catholic, the rest being Muslim or pagan. There are 40 missionaries, 30 brothers, 41 sisters, 30 churches (including 2 parishes), 86 elementary schools, 12 middle schools, and 3 vocational schools. Pious associations and Catholic Action are well organized.