The Alaska mission ministers to Spanish-speakers in the Archdiocese of Anchorage and, as resources allow, outreach to those who speak Spanish in the Dioceses of Fairbanks and Juneau. The mission is rooted in the parish of the Co-Cathedral in Anchorage, where the confreres are pastor and vicar, serving both English and Spanish populations. The mission needs bilingual men (Spanish and English) who have driver’s licenses, robust health, good professional and personal boundaries, and are willing to suffer in a harsh climate to serve the poor. The Co-Cathedral is the home church of the largest Hispanic community in Alaska. Outside of Anchorage, one confrere travels every month to Kodiak Island to attend to the spiritual needs of the Hispanic faithful. In the Diocese of Fairbanks, the mission outreach supplies a priest for 12 consecutive days. This priest works in collaboration with the Cathedral’s pastor to meet
the Hispanic community’s needs. Father Andrew Bellisario’s appointment as Bishop of Juneau reduced mission’s staff to two confreres. It made difficult to run all the outreach ministries which they already have begun. The Mission in Fairbanks is 400 miles away from the community and in winter is accessible only by airplane. Kodiak Island is accessible only by airplane and often the weather disrupts travel plans. As more confreres who speak English and Spanish come to the mission, the outreach will extend to Hispanic communities in places like Dutch Harbor and Juneau, both of which are accessible only by airplane.
