New chapter in a long life of Church service

Originally printed in the April 2025 issue

Bonnie Bezousek, the new executive assistant to Archbishop Andrew Bellisario, carries on an unusual ministry. Away from her office, her favorite calling is to spend one-on-one time with friends and family to be present to their adventures in life.

“This is my emphasis right now,” said Bezousek (pronounced bee-SOO-zak). “I look at it as a ministry to be present with people as individuals and be part of their stories.”

This attitude of “pastoral” care comes from her long career being involved with the Archdiocese of Anchorage and now the Archdiocese of Anchorage-Juneau.

“I started July 9, 2025 at the AOAJ.  Returning to the Chancery has been a wonderful experience.  It’s like coming home, being greeted by many warm and friendly faces of my old coworkers and meeting new faces,” she said.   The position involves sensitive communication and other tasks working closely with the archbishop.

“My faith is a driving force in my life and hence my long involvement with the church. As I look back on my career with “the church…the Holy Spirit” has been my guide with each decision.”

Her career with the church began at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton around 1997 as a coordinator for faith formation. Within three years she became the director of faith formation, where she remained until about 2015. “Bezousek helped with hundreds of students over the years as they made their First Communion; one year, 90 students in the parish reached that critical religious milestone.”

Moving from parish life to the Archdiocese of Anchorage in 2015 as the Director of Faith of Formation and Catholic Schools, Bezousek worked with the parishes and schools. One of her responsibilities was to bring formation though Pastoral Days for the parishes and in-service days for the schools. In June of 2020 with the onset of Covid, Bezousek “retired,” only to return to church work two months later as part – time front office person at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

All roads seemed to lead here in a natural outcome. Bezousek was born and raised in Seattle, Washington, in a family of five children.

“I went to Catholic schools my whole life,” Bezousek said. She graduated from Holy Names Academy in Seattle, earned her degree in psychology from St. Martin’s University in Olympia, Wash., and then a masters of pastoral studies at Seattle University. “So, I had a background education from Providence Sisters, Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, Benedictine monks, and the Jesuit orders.”

Marriage moved her to Alaska in 1989 – followed by the birth of their two children, Paul and Stephen. Their Alaska assignment was to last a “few years” while husband John worked on the North Slope. Thirty-six years later they are still here.

Being asked to serve as the Archbishop’s assistant feels like an “honor and a privilege, and a moment of grace for me because he felt highly enough about me to ask me.”

As in her previous positions – and her personal ministry – the roads converged.

“You have to be very pastoral. Everyone walks a different life. They are not in the same mold. Everyone has his or her own relationship with the lord.

Still, I use that psychology degree every day of my life. It all comes together. You treat people with respect and kindness.”