On loan to the Anchorage Archdiocese since 2006, Father Brundage has been a close advisor to Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz and has maintained a number of important leadership roles during his Alaska tenure. Before his departure the Catholic Anchor asked Father Brundage to reflect on his time serving the church in Alaska and share insights he has gleaned about one of the northern-most outreaches of the Catholic Church.
“Sometimes, a person has such a deep and abiding sense of love and compassion that they are impelled to action. Doctor Cathy is one of those people,” said Provincial Councilor, Sister of Providence Jo Ann Showalter. “She has such a wellspring of love for the children of Alaska, especially those who have been abused, that she has used her prodigious gifts, talents and skills in many, many ways for the betterment of children.”
Alaskan pilgrims planning to attend the 2016 World Youth Day gathering with Pope Francis in Poland are being urged to register for the trip by the end of this month.
For millions of Christians, including those in Alaska, summer is spiritual pilgrimage time. But if Alaskan pilgrims can’t make the long journey to Lourdes or the Holy Land, they can still make little pilgrimages — in the Far North. Here, the Catholic Anchor lists a few holy sites in Alaska ripe for spiritual venturing.
“We are all pilgrims,” Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has explained. And that pilgrimage is a “journey to Heaven,” he added – one in which the faithful are on a “perennial mission of proclaiming before the world the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Competing against news outlets from across Alaska, the Catholic Anchor took home three awards from the Alaska Press Club’s statewide journalism competition, which took place in Anchorage in late April. Consisting of several hundred journalists and more than 60 media outlets, the Alaska Press Club is a professional organization that provides education, recognition and information to Alaska’s reporters, editors and publishers. The Catholic Anchor — the only faith-based newspaper among the Alaska Press Club members — continued its long tradition of being honored at the annual conference.
The second season of St. Therese’s Camp in the Mat-Su Valley begins June 28. The Catholic summer camp, located outside of Wasilla, offers four weeklong programs on a forested 57-acre lakeside campus. According to the camp website, programming for children ages 8-14 includes “swimming, kayaking, canoeing, singing, campfires, archery, volleyball, ultimate frisbee, arts and crafts and outdoor skills training.”
Attendees will participate in daily Mass, go to eucharistic adoration and confession, perform service projects in the community and raise money for Heifer International. On Tuesday evening, Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz, Fairbanks Bishop Chad Zielinski and Juneau Bishop Edward Burns will join young people for an ice cream social, after which the youth will be able to grill the bishops with questions about the faith. This is a popular and well attended yearly event at ACYC.
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in south Anchorage will be celebrating 10 years of offering perpetual eucharistic adoration at the parish.
It’s no secret that the vast, sparsely populated expanse of Alaska suffers from a grave shortage of Catholic clergy. On May 1 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Co-Cathedral in Anchorage that burden was lessened just a bit when six Alaskan men, dressed in white albs, were called from their seats among family and friends to be ordained permanent deacons for the Archdiocese of Anchorage.
Here is a listing of news briefs and upcoming events across the Archdiocese of Anchorage, Alaska.