Item 4 - Report on the Prefecture Apostolic of Victoria Falls

Reference code

IE CA AMI/2/2/4

Title

Report on the Prefecture Apostolic of Victoria Falls

Date(s)

  • 25 Jan. 1946 (Creation)

Level of description

Item

Extent and medium

19 pp; Typescript

Name of creator

(27 May 1905-3 December 1972)

Biographical history

Vincent Flynn, the son of William Flynn and Mary Anne Flynn (née Collins), was born in County Donegal on 27 May 1905. He joined the Capuchin Order in October 1922 and took Killian as his religious name. He was ordained a priest in June 1930 and travelled as a missionary friar to Northern Rhodesia (later Zambia) in September 1931. He held the position of superior of the Irish Capuchin mission in Northern Rhodesia throughout most of the 1930s. He was appointed the first Prefect Apostolic of Victoria Falls (Livingstone) in 1936, a position he would hold for fifteen years. He became General Secretary for Education in Northern Rhodesia and established the Catholic Secretariat for the Bishops in 1951. He was awarded an MBE by the British monarchy for his services to African education in 1958. In 1961 bishops from Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, and Zambia appointed Flynn the first Secretary General of the newly established Association of Members of the Episcopal Conference of Eastern Africa (AMECEA) in Nairobi, Kenya, a post he would hold until his death. He was the principal organizer for the historic visit of Pope Paul VI to Uganda in 1969 for which he received the ‘Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice’ award. Later, he acted as the principal contact for the AMECEA bishops at the Second Vatican Council (1962-5). Following a short illness, he died in Dublin on 3 December 1972. He was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery.

Baptismal name: Vincent Flynn
Religious name: Killian
Date of birth: 27 May 1905
Place of birth: Killybegs, County Donegal (Diocese of Raphoe)
Name of father: William Flynn
Name of mother: Mary Anne Flynn (née Collins)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 15 Oct. 1922
Date of first profession: 19 Oct. 1923
Date of final profession: 19 Oct. 1926
Date of ordination (as priest): 29 June 1930
Educational attainments: BA (NUI), 1926
Missionary activity/leadership positions: Travelled to South Africa and later Northern Rhodesia in Sept. 1931; Appointed Prefect Apostolic of Victoria Falls in 1936; Superior of Capuchin Foreign Missions, Africa, 21 June 1935 and reappointed on 14 Oct. 1938 and from 1942-46; General Secretary for Education of the Hierarchy of Northern Rhodesia (later Zambia) in 1951; appointed General Secretary to the Hierarchy with the title of ‘Very Reverend’ with privilege of former Provincial Minister as understood in Mission Statue No. 134 granted by the Capuchin General Definitory on 20 July 1963.
Date of death: 3 Dec. 1972
Place of death: Bon Secours Hospital, Dublin
Place of burial: Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin

Archival history

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Scope and content

Report on the Prefecture Apostolic of Victoria Falls by Monsignor Killian Flynn OFM Cap., Prefect Apostolic and Regular Superior.
The report in divided into the following sections:

  1. Initial Progress and History of the Mission
    First bush-stations
    Education
    Prefecture
    Further progress
    War Years, 1939-45
    Mission Policy
  2. Adjoining Territory
  3. Statistical Information arranged under the following headings:
    a. Livingstone
    b. Lealui
    c. Mongu
    d. Population
    e. Tribes
    f. Local governing structures
  4. Protestant Missionary Influence
  5. Government Schools
  6. Attitude of the Colonial and Local Governments
  7. Numbers of Catholics
  8. Expenses
  9. Conversions
  10. Seat of the Ecclesiastical Superior
  11. Number of Mission Stations
  12. Government Subsidies
  13. Missionary Personnel
  14. Prospects for Vocations
  15. Catechists
  16. Foundations of the Sisters of the Holy Cross
  17. Clerical Seminaries
  18. Catholic Schools
  19. Confraternities and Sodalities
    The final section of the report is titled: ‘Mission difficulties summarised’ and outlines the prospects for the future success of missionary work in the Prefecture. An appendix contains a brief report on missionary work in the Eastern Caprivi Strip.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Conditions governing access

Conditions governing reproduction

Language of material

  • English
  • Latin

Script of material

Language and script notes

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Alternative identifier(s)

Subject access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Rules and/or conventions used

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

Script(s)

Sources

Accession area

Related subjects

Related people and organizations

Related genres

Related places