The Zambesi Mission was a Catholic

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

division in

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

Location

The prefecture comprised all Rhodesia south of the Zambesi River, that part of Bechuanaland which is north of the Tropic of Capricorn and east of the 22nd degree of longitude, that part of Rhodesia north of the Zambesi, south 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 ...

, and west of the 30th degree longitude. Originally it also included a part of North-eastern Rhodesia, which was split off into the Vicariate Apostolic of Nyassa. Rhodesia was administered by the

British South Africa Company The British South Africa Company (BSAC or BSACo) was chartered in 1889 following the amalgamation of Cecil Rhodes' Central Search Association and the London-based Exploring Company Ltd, which had originally competed to capitalize on the expecte ...

from 1890 onwards.

Establishment

The Zambesi mission was founded in 1877, and entrusted to the English Province of the Society of Jesus; its limits were defined by

Propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

in 1879. In 1879 the first party of missionaries under Father Henry Depelchin, the first superior, started from Grahamstown, Cape Colony by oxen drawn wagon to Bulawayo. The thousand mile journey took five or six months. The first years were difficult. Due to the lack of efficient transport, prices were very high which meant that many lives were lost from fever and privations. The Matabele were at the time hostile to Christianity, with their king, Lobengula, playing a crucial part in opposing the mission. There were unsuccessful expeditions from the base in Bulawayo, one led by Father Depelchin to the north beyond the Zambesi and one led by Father Augustus Law went 300 miles east to the Portuguese border.

Under the British South Africa Company

In 1893 Lobengula was overthrown when Bulawayo and Matabeleland were seized by the

. A number of other Catholic missionaries entered the new territory with the

Sisters of St. Dominic The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and Mysticism, mystic Saint ...

starting public hospitals, and later opening schools for the children of the settlers. The progress of the mission was slow, with the adult population still attached to animism and polygamy. The missions concentrated on providing education although this was hampered by a number of physical difficulties, although the introduction of railways meant that more mission stations could be established. As well as the Jesuits and the Sisters of St. Dominic the other Catholic missionaries included the

Missionaries of Mariannhill , image = Congregation of the Missionaries of Mariannhill logo.png , abbreviation = CMM , formation = , founder = Franz Pfanner , founding_location = Mariannhill, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa , ...

, the Sisters of Notre Dame and the Sisters of the Precious Blood.

References

{{Authority control Rhodesia Catholic Church in Zimbabwe Apostolic prefectures Jesuit missions