By the time Kimberley was leaping into existence there was already a priest in Bloemfontein, Peter Hoendervangers of the Order of Saint Norbert,[1] who had followed the troops as military chaplain during a war between the British and Boers in 1854.
When Hoendervangers left Bloemfontein, he was replaced by Victor Bompart, sent by Charles-Constant Jolivet [de] to minister to the scanty Catholic population.
Being obliged to live in the midst of an element prejudiced against anything which might remind them of Rome and hating the very name of Catholic, his labours were to remain apparently fruitless for several years.
When Kimberley started into existence, the number of Catholics in the locality necessitated the frequent visit of the priest and very soon the establishment of a permanent mission.
When in 1886 a separate vicariate was erected, Anthony Gaughren, also O.M.I., was appointed the first Vicar Apostolic; he was elected in May, 1886, consecrated on 10 August 1886, and died in Kimberley on 15 January 1901.
In 1910, the vicariate had 16 churches and chapels; 19 priests (of whom 16 belong to the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate); one college under the management of the Congregation of Christian Brothers, where over 300 boys received a thorough education.
The devoted self-sacrifice of these Sisters contributed to overcome the prejudices of Protestants who help them generously in the upkeep of their establishment, where over one hundred and fifty children and aged persons were cared for; all the primary schools were in part supported by the Government.
One of the great obstacles to evangelisation in this vicariate was the fact of the population being scattered and unsettled, preventing the priest from being in continual touch with his flock.
In the farming districts, though communication was facilitated by the construction of railways, the future seemed precarious owing to droughts, cattle diseases, locusts etc.