- Zambesi Mission
Zambesi Mission was a Catholic
prefecture division inRhodesia .Location
The prefecture comprises all Rhodesia south of the
Zambesi River , that part ofBechuanaland which is north of theTropic of Capricorn and east of the 22nd degree oflongitude , that part of Rhodesia north of the Zambesi, south of theCongo Free State , and west of the 30th degree longitude. Originally it also included a part of North-eastern Rhodesia, which is now included in theVicariate Apostolic of Nyassa .History
All this territory was under British rule, by far the larger portion being administered by the
British South Africa Chartered Company .Establishment
Zambesi mission was founded in
1877 , and entrusted to the English Province of theSociety of Jesus ; its limits were defined by Propaganda in1879 . It was in this latter year that the first party of missionaries underFather Henry Depelchin , the first superior, started fromGrahamstown inCape Colony , with four wagons drawn by oxen, on a journey of five or six months toBulawayo , 1000 miles in the interior. There were then norailways in the country; communications were slow and difficult, and the prices of the necessaries of life were enormous.Many lives were lost from
fever and privations. TheMatabele natives were not yet prepared to receiveChristianity , and the cruel rule of their despotic king, Lobengula, rendered fruitless every effort of the missionaries.An expedition led by Father Depelchin himself pushed further north beyond the Zambesi in quest of more promising fields; but from various causes this attempt failed. Another unsuccessful expedition under
Father Augustus Law went 300 miles east to the Portuguese border.Under the British South Africa Company
With the advent of the
British South Africa Company a new era opened for the mission. In1893 Lobengula was deprived of his power,Bulawayo , his capital, seized, and Matabeleland conquered. Missionaries availed themselves of the advantages which the new rule guaranteed. Sites suitable for mission stations were selected. TheSisters of St. Dominic entered the country about the same time, took charge of the publichospitals , and later openedschools for the children of the settlers.Progress
The progress of the mission has been necessarily slow. Little is to be expected from the adult native population owing to their pagan practices, especially
polygamy ; hence the hopes of large and successful communities must be built mainly on the education of children. Moreover, the work has been hampered again and again by those difficulties which have retarded the material development ofRhodesia : wars within and without the borders, cattle plagues,famine ,locusts , etc. Meanwhile, the introduction ofrailways has removed one great obstacle to the establishment of mission stations. One line traverses the mission from south to north.New Missionaries
Father Henry Depelchin has been succeeded by Father Alfred Weld, Father Alphonsus Daignault, of the Canadian Province, Father Henry Schomberg-Kerr, Father Richard Sykes, Father Ignatius Gartlan, and Father R. Sykes who has lately returned to the post. There are 32
Jesuits and 22 Jesuitlay brothers , and 3 priests and 6 brothers of theMissionaries of Mariannhill .The towns of
Bulawayo , Salisbury,Gwelo , andUmtali have each a church and a resident priest. AtChishawasha and Driefontein inMashonaland , Empandeni inMatabeleland , and Monze, north of the Zambesi, there are large mission stations for the natives.Nun Led Education
The
Sisters of St. Dominic (numbering 82) have schools for the Europeans at Salisbury, Bulawayo, and Gwelo, and a school for native girls at the mission station of Chishawasha.The
Sisters of Notre Dame (9 in number) have two schools for natives at the mission station of Empandeni.There are 10
Sisters of the Precious Blood in the prefecture. The Jesuits conduct a school for European boys at Bulawayo, receiving a small annual grant from the government.Observatory
There is also at Bulawayo an observatory under the care of
Father Edmund Goetz, S.J. ; it has a small annual subsidy from the government.Population
The Europeans number about 1300; in Southern Rhodesia the native population has not yet been estimated with even approximate accuracy. The Catholic population comprises about 740 Europeans and
India ns, 1400 natives. Several books have been written in the four languages spoken in Rhodesia, mostly by the Fathers of the mission -- grammars, catechisms, prayer-books, andBible stories. Besides these Father Julius Eorrend has published an important work entitled: "A Comparative Grammar of the South African Bantu Languages".----
ee also
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Catholic Mission Work
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