The year 1886 saw the separation from the original vicariate of Natal of the Transvaal, the Orange Free State, Basutoland and Griqualand West. The next major subdivision, beginning in 1921, created separate prefectures for Zululand and Swaziland and an independent vicariate of Mariannhill; so that by 1925, when this study ends, the Natal vicariate had been greatly reduced in area and in population. The history of the Catholic Church in Natal during this period has not been studied in any detail and there are no published works dealing specifically with it. The late Father Brown's survey, The Catholic Church in South Africa embraced a wide field and consequently devotes no detailed attention to any one area. Brady's Trekking for Souls deals with only part of Bishop Jolivet's episcopate and does not metion the work of Bishop Delalle.