Holy Rosary Academy’s first season offering wrestling proved a success when freshman Michael Lucas won the state title in the 132-lb division of the Class 1-2-3A state wrestling championships in December. In an 8-2 decision, Lucas defeated Cody Greene of Valdez to finish the season with a 35-3 win-loss record.
Parishioners at St. Anthony Church in Anchorage helped Father Fred Bugarin celebrate his 40th anniversary to the priesthood last month.
Describing their pastor as a “bridge builder between people,” parishioners held a community celebration on Jan. 24-25.
Part of a small handful of priest ordained in Alaska, Father Bugarin immigrated to Alaska from the Philippines with his father in 1963. He attended Anchorage’s first Catholic junior high school before graduating from West High School in 1967.
Anchorage Archbishop Emeritus Francis Hurley celebrated his 88th birthday on Jan. 12 with a gathering of friends at his private residence in Anchorage. He served as head of the Anchorage Archdiocese for 25 years, retiring in 2001 when current Archbishop Roger Schwietz was installed. Archbishop Hurley continues to live in Anchorage where he celebrates daily Mass in his home chapel, visits with friends and former colleagues and regularly attends major funerals and Catholic events in the archdiocese.