Students at Holy Rosary Academy in Anchorage put on the school’s annual Festival of Lessons and Carols last month during a service at Our Lady of Guadalupe Co-Cathedral. The program recalled the story of the fall of humanity, the promise of the Messiah, and the birth of Jesus in nine short Scripture readings from Genesis, the prophetic books and the Gospels. The readings were interspersed with Christmas carols and hymns.
On Saturday, Dec. 6, dozens of children gathered at St. Nicholas of Myra Byzantine Catholic Church to meet with the beloved Saint Nicholas, the third century bishop of Myra and the inspiration behind much of the Christmas gift-giving tradition. Families gathered in St. Nicholas parish which celebrated its namesake with a Divine Liturgy followed by singing, dancing, gift exchanges and a potluck feast.
Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz presided over the Dec. 8 Immaculate Conception Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Anchorage. During the morning liturgy he formally blessed the new metropolitan cross which is now used at all Masses that the archbishop celebrates at the newly elevated co-cathedral church.
Readers weigh in on vandalism at Anchorage’s Holy Family Cathedral, the bi-partisan fight for unborn rights and the recent visit to Alaska by Pope Francis’ top ranking ambassador to the United States.
What has occurred at Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage over the past several months is deeply disturbing for both believers and unbelievers alike. It gives one pause that vandals would attempt to burn down an outdoor shrine to the Blessed Virgin, smash the windows of the Dominican priests’ vehicle, barge into the sanctuary and throw down statues of Mary, Joseph and Jesus, while stripping the holy altar and overturning the archbishop’s chair and other furnishings. Add to this that at least one Dominican friar has also been punched in the face and attempts have been made to break into the priests’ residence. Regardless of one’s beliefs attacks on a sacred house of worship and the oldest church in Anchorage leaves one feeling less secure about our community and what we can expect from it.
During daylight hours in early December, Holy Family Cathedral was vandalized. Nearly life-size, solid-wood statues, including one of the Holy Family — the Infant Jesus, Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph grouped together — were toppled to the floor, the main altar was stripped, and even the top of the tabernacle was knocked to the ground. That night, two intruders tried to break into the second floor rooms of the priests’ residence — steps from the church. These acts are part of a growing litany of attacks against the cathedral: In November, someone torched an outdoor statue of Mary and defecated across the church courtyard facing busy 5th Avenue. In 2013 someone charged the altar during Mass; in 2012 two priests were physically assaulted. The violence has left local Catholics wondering how the cathedral walks the fine line between keeping doors open to all comers and preserving peace and reverence for the house of God.