Imagining a Christian Territory: Changing Spatial Strategies in the Missionary Outposts of Scheut (Kasai, Congo, 1891–1940)

The establishment of the mission of Mikalayi Saint Joseph in 1891 is a notorious, often glorified landmark in the history of Catholic missionary work in Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo, or DRC).1 The first Catholic mission in this southern part of the colony, it became the nucleus of what came to be known as the Kasai mission. Studying the genesis and evolution of the Catholic presence in this area requires tracing the often implicit but nonetheless powerful spatial strategies deployed by the missionaries of Scheut to evangelize its inhabitants.