On his way to Anchorage, Alaska, the Superior General stopped over in Juneau to visit with our newly ordained bishop of that diocese, Bishop Andrew Bellisario, C.M. Although the Superior General was in Juneau for just one day, he had the opportunity to visit some of the members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul which is very active in the diocese. He visited the newly opened and blessed thrift store, the shelter for persons who are homeless, the housing for the elderly, and several other buildings that provide clinics and housing for people who are poor. The Superior General also visited the chancery staff and the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Juneau. It is the smallest Cathedral in North America. Our Confrere Bishop was honored to host the first ever visit of a Superior General to beautiful Southeast, Alaska.
The Diocese of Juneau encompasses the southeast Alaska panhandle, a narrow strip of North America’s mainland, plus the more than 1,000 islands of the Alexander Archipelago. The Diocese is roughly thesize and shape of the State of Florida. Our priests serve the smallest population of any Latin Catholic diocese in the USA. As noted in the Diocese’s Mission Statement Prayer, our several thousand Catholics are“…scattered across the vast land and waters we call home.” Haines andSkagwayhavehighwayaccesstoandfromCanada. Prince of Wales Island has a highway network among its several towns and villages connecting to the parish church at Klawock. All other parishes and missions are accessible from elsewhere only by air or bysea.
AgreatadvantageofservinginourCatholiccommunities is the opportunity to know each parishioner or mission member by name. In the Diocese of Juneau, the Church’s priests share deeply in the lives of the people whom they serve, in a manner simply not experienced bypriestsservinglarger,urbanorsuburbanpopulations. Some of our smallest parishes have fewer than 100 members,andseveralmissionshavelessthanadozen. As stated in the “Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World,” Gaudium et Spes, our priests truly get to know the “…joy and the hope, the grief and the anguish…” of people throughout southeastAlaska.
Resulting from southeast Alaska’s physical location on the Pacific rim, large numbers of visitors, temperate climate, and overseas economic relationships, people seemingly “…of every race and tongue, of every people and nation…” (Rev. 5:9) choose to make their earthly homes in the Diocese of Juneau. Our priests routinely encounter people of diverse cultures, native languages, and countries of origin. These include representatives from all the inhabited continents and the many Pacific islands known collectively as Oceania.
In these early years of the Third Millennium, approximately 12% of our overall population is identifiably Catholic. About half of them are active in the Faith. More than 60% of southeast Alaskans have no religious affiliation. Such statistics point to the great need here for missionary endeavor, a place where priests strive to share the Gospel message of Jesus Christ with our fellow committed Catholics, with those whose relationship with Him has cooled, and with those who do not yet know Him.
The Diocese of Juneau is a beautiful place with wonderful people as our Superior General can now attest because of his visit here.
Bishop Andrew Bellisario, C.M.
