The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-09-12
AMERICAN MISSIONARY IN SOUTH
AFRICA.

The, following appeal is from the
pen of Father. D. J. Lanslots, O. S. B.,
Project Apostolic of Northern Trans
wall
Father Lanslots is an American,
and, after describing the needs of his
trying MISSION. sappeals with con
fidence for help. May his hopes be
realized.
"The Apostolic Prefecture" he
writes, "of Northern Transyaal was
erected in 1910. AS rule, when new
jurisdictions are formed from pre-
existing vicariates, at least a few
missionary stations provided with
churches and schools are turned over
to them. In our case, the mission
aries were sent very much like the
Apostles, strictly to the heathens. In
an area of ABOUT $4,000 square miles,
after a good survey of the country,
less than two hundred Catholics
could be found. No churches, no
schools and no priests houses. The
population of the prefecture must be
considerably over half million; with
the exception of about 10000 Beers,
the rest are. Kaffirs. 1t was hard
beginning. AS it is the work of God
it must succeed. Our first duty was
to learn the language of the natives
Our missionaries are now able to
preach to them. The next thing to do
was to find Suitable centres in the
neighborhood of the most important
of the forty-fve reservations for
Kafirs within the prefecture. The
Protestant missionary societies had
pretty well divided up the whole ter
ritory before the Catholics entered the
field. They, of course, did not help
us in gaining a footing, but threw
all sorts of obstacles in our way: In
the last three years we have sue
ceeded in establishing five such cen
tres-two for whites and others, and
three exclusively for the. Katlrs,
Some of these stations did not have Q
single Catholic for miles around. Our
poverty did not allow us to provide
any better dwelling for the Almighty
in the Sacrament of His love, and for
the missionaries Mass tent first and
mud walls and a matched roof after
wards.
Last week received letter from
one of nv missionaries complaining
that the white ants are getting so nu-
merous in the matched roof of his
little mud walled chapel that not only
will it soon be totally destroyed, but
that in the meantime numbers OF
them during Mass fall on the altar
cit is the best we can do until our
benefactors will help us put up some
thing more substantial.
Every station is provided with a
school for Kaffirs of the same material
as the church and the priests house,
At Petersburg, the headquarters OF
the prefecture, we have put up little
wood and iron school for the Indians,
who are rather numerous. For two
of the schools we have a good cate
chist to teach; in the others the mis-
sionaries are the schoolmasters. The
Dominican Sisters of Newcastle
Natal, have volunteered their services
for the instruction of the poor white
children, both Catholic and non-Cath.
Ole, scattered all oversthe prefecture
without the help of our benefac.
tors in America and in Europe the
prefecture could not have made a
move; the total annual income from
all sources within the prefecture was
in 1913 less than $3.50.
''The late war left the Beers with
ont a Cfofn nburnb Ac a rpcI1f thnir
preachers are not so plentiful.
"Our Kaff1rs seem to have no re-
1igion at all, or at least they are not
Mahommedans. They are polygamists
and the slaves of vices too numerous
to mention, yet experience has shown
that after conversion they make very
good Catholics.
"Ag the head Of that very poor mis-