The Vicariate Apostolic of Unyanyembe ( la, Vicariatus Apostolicus Unianyembensis) was an Apostolic vicariate located in

German East Africa German East Africa (GEA; german: Deutsch-Ostafrika) was a German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Mozam ...

. It was promoted to the Diocese of Tabora in 1925 and to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Tabora in 1953.

Creation and boundaries

It was separated from the Vicariate Apostolic of Nyanza by a Decree of Propaganda on December 30, 1886. Its limits, as fixed on December 10, 1895, were: * North - the Vicariate Apostolic of Southern Nyanza * East - a line drawn from Lake Manjara (36°E.) along the mountain ridges to the North West of Ugago * South - the northern limits of Ujanzi, Ugunda, Ugetta, Uvenza, and Ujiji * West -

Lake Tanganyika Lake Tanganyika () is an African Great Lake. It is the second-oldest freshwater lake in the world, the second-largest by volume, and the second-deepest, in all cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is the world's longest freshwater lake. ...

and the eastern boundary of the

Congo Free State ''(Work and Progress) , national_anthem = Vers l'avenir , capital = Vivi Boma , currency = Congo Free State franc , religion = Catholicism (''de facto'') , leader1 = Leopo ...

to the village of

Ruanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

History

This district was originally included in the

Apostolic Vicariate of Tanganyika Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Apostles in the New Testament, Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine ...

. In 1879, R.P. Ganachan of the White Fathers penetrated this previously unknown region and endeavoured to settle at

Tabora Tabora is the capital of Tanzania's Tabora Region and is classified as a municipality by the Tanzanian government. It is also the administrative seat of Tabora Urban District. According to the 2012 census, the district had a population of 226,999. ...

, but was unsuccessful. Two years later R.P. Guillet succeeded and opened an

orphanage An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...

there, which was shortly afterwards transferred to Kipalapala one league distant. In 1844 R.P. Lourdel settled at Djiue-la-Singa, but the post was abandoned on 13 March 1885. On 11 January 1887, the mission of Unyanyembe was separated from Tanganika, with R.P. Girault as superior of the provicariate. On 23 August 1887, Mgr Jean Charbonnier was consecrated bishop in the Kipalapala orphanage chapel by Mgr.

Léon Livinhac Léon-Antoine-Augustin-Siméon Livinhac, M.Afr. (13 July 1846 - 12 November 1922) was a Catholic priest who established the church in what is modern Uganda and became head of the White Fathers (Society of the Missionaries of Africa). He oversaw a ...

of Uganda. This was the first episcopal consecration in Equatorial Africa. The station at Kipalapala was destroyed in 1889 by the natives. Two years later it was restored, and another was opened at Uchirombo. Towards the close of 1897 five Sisters of Notre-Dame d'Afrique arrived at Uchirombo. In 1900 there were in this mission 20 priests, 6 nuns, 49 catechists, 1842 neophytes, 6000 catechumens, and 150 children in the schools. A German scientist, Dr. Richard Kandt, a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

, was so impressed by the good work of the Catholic missionaries that he presented his estate at

to the vicar Apostolic to found a school and hospital. The first vicar Apostolic, Mgr François Gerboin, of the White Fathers, born in 1847 and consecrated titular Bishop of Turbubto in 1897, resided at

Ushirombo Ushirombo is a town in the Geita Region in northwestern Tanzania. The town is the location of the district headquarters for Bukombe District Bukombe District is one of the five districts in Geita Region of Tanzania. Its administrative centre is ...

Mission statistics in 1905

* 33

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

s * 7 lay brothers * 6 nuns * 72

catechist Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the ...

s * 26 schools with 966 pupils * 11 hospitals * 5

leper Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damage ...

houses * 17 orphanages with 325 children rescued from

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

* 3,000,000 infidels * 678 Catholics * 2889 catechumens.

References

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Unyanyembe Unyanyembe is a town in Tanzania (formerly German East Africa) near Mwadui Airport in Shinyanga Region. It was one of the locations visited by Henry Morton Stanley during his search for Dr Livingstone. In the 19th-century it was the headquarters ...