TSHUMBÈ, APOSTOLIC VICARIATE OF. — It is situated in the central-eastern part of the Belgian Congo and is roughly bounded by the 24th degree of longitude and the 4th degree of latitude.
It forms part of the Kasai Province, of which it embraces almost the entire civil district of Sankuru. It was erected as an apostolic vicariate on 13 March 1947 by the elevation of the homonymous apostolic prefecture, which in turn had been established on 15 May 1936 with territory detached from the then apostolic vicariate of Upper Kasai (now the apostolic vicariate of Luluabourg). It is entrusted to the care of the Passionists, who arrived there in 1930 to assist the Scheutist Missionaries, founded the two mission stations of Ifuta and Mwetshi in 1931, and eventually took it over exclusively.
Over an area of approximately 60,000 sq. km., it has about 183,000 inhabitants, of whom 32,917 are Catholic, 8,000 Protestant, and the rest pagan; it has 594 churches, including 50 parishes, served by 3 indigenous priests and 31 foreign priests (Passionists); 313 schools, 20 charitable institutions; and also a printing press with a monthly periodical: Nkuruze (1,240 copies). Evangelization proceeds slowly because it is hindered, on the one hand, by the emigration of young people and, on the other—far more seriously—by the corruption of morals, particularly polygamy, which, although recently struck by a government decree (4 Apr. 1950), remains a very widespread custom.