SWAZILAND, THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN

A former British territory located in Africa, the Kingdom of Swaziland is bound on the northeast by Mozambique and on all other sides by the Republic of South Africa. A hilly region, Swaziland's terrain rises to mountains in the east and falls to sloping plains, leaving little land available for large-scale farming. Natural resources include asbestos, coal, clay and timber; once-rich iron ore deposits were depleted by 1980. Unlike similarly situated Lesotho, Swaziland exports little of its labor to South Africa but supplies a great deal of sugar, wood pulp and fruit to the surrounding region.

Guaranteed political autonomy by the British in the late 19th century, Swaziland was part of the British High Commission territory from 1906 to 1968, when it achieved independence. Due to the toll of aids as well as continued drought in the region, the average life expectancy for a Swazi was 40.4 years in 2000.

History. Inhabited by the Swazi tribes since the 16th century, the region received its first Catholic missionaries in the mid-19th century, when the oblates of mary im maculate were sent from the Vicariate Apostolic of Natal. A shortage of missionaries retarded development in the region, and after the British took control following the second Boer War, the servites (OSM) were entrusted with the area in 1913. The Prefecture Apostolic of Swaziland, erected in 1923, became a vicariate in 1939 and a diocese in 1951, whose name was changed from Bremersdorp to Manzini in 1961. Bishop Attilius Barneschi, OSM, who worked within the country from 1939 until 1965, built a cathedral at Manzini and established a seminary and a novitiate for African sisters.

On Sept. 6, 1968, the country gained its independence, and its first king, Sobhuza II. While the original constitution was suspended within a few years with the intention of revising it, no revision had been put in effect by 2000, although the Swazi government respected freedom of religion. While the fact that the country was almost totally inhabited by one ethnic group, the Swazi, allowed Swaziland to maintain civil peace in contrast to many of its African neighbors, political unrest developed. The lack of political parties prompted student activists, with support from Church leaders, to agitate for reforms that would create a government more responsive to the people. In 1992 the Holy See established relations with the country's King Mswati III; the following year the country held quasi-parliamentary elections, although the results were considered by many to be suspect.

Into the 21st Century. By 2000 Swaziland had 15 parishes tended by eight diocesan and 30 religious

priests. Other religious included nine brothers and approximately 60 sisters. In addition to 45 primary and 12 secondary schools, the Church also operated several hospitals, dispensaries, orphanages and hostels in the country. The bishop, a member of the South African Bishops' Conference, joined in that organization's efforts to bring about racial peace and justice in the whole of southern Africa. The spread of HIV/AIDS also presented the Church with a pressing challenge; in 2000 over one fourth of all adults were HIV-positive. In 2000, to help stop the spread of this disease, the government passed a law banning girls ten years and older from wearing miniskirts in schools.

Bibliography: j. e. brady, Trekking for Souls (Cedara, Natal 1952). w. e. brown, The Catholic Church in South Africa from Its Origins to the Present Day (New York 1960). The Catholic Directory of South Africa (Capetown 1917–). Annuario Pontificio (1964) 262.

[j. e. brady/eds.]