By Carol Sturgulewski The North Star Catholic Faith in God, in science, and in the future is bringing a generous gift to Lumen Christi Catholic High School students. The Anchorage school has received a $20,000 biotechnology grant from a private family foundation. The foundation made several gifts to programs in southern California this year, but…
By Catholic Extension Catholic Extension’s Lumen Christi Award honors an individual or group working in an Extension Diocese who demonstrates how the power of faith can transform lives and communities. The Lumen Christi Award is accompanied by a grant for the honoree and his or her nominating diocese to be used for enhancing a specific…
By Father Steve Gallagher The North Star Catholic If you’re flying the “milk run,” Wrangell is the second northbound stop in the panhandle – after Ketchikan. The actual town of Wrangell is located on the northwest coast of Wrangell Island, accessible only by water or air. Saint Rose of Lima is the center of the…
By Dave Ringle St. Vincent de Paul Juneau, General Manager I didn’t know Dan Austin well. One of his closest friends asked me to join the Juneau St. Vincent de Paul board on Father’s Day 2018. None of us knew that five weeks later, Dan would pass away. I did not know the circumstances at…
By Scott McMurren Those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer are here. But Alaskans are rarely content with just soda and pretzels and beer. With apologies to Nat King Cole, the standout quality for a great Alaska summer is kicking your travel plans into high gear. While traveling far and near, it’s always a treat…
By Janet WashamThe North Star Catholic St. Michael Parish in Palmer, Alaska, was founded in May 1935. The parish started to serve the colonists moving to Alaska as part of the Matanuska Colony Project, a United States Government New Deal Project in which families from Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan settled into the Matanuska Valley and…
Sr. Frances Vista, DCThe North Star Catholic The feast of St. Kateri Tekakwitha is celebrated in the United States on July 14. St. Kateri was the first Indigenous American to be canonized as a saint. Born in 1656 to a Mohawk chief, Kateri was orphaned at the age of four after her parents died from…
The soon-to-be saint Charles de Foucauld, who left behind a rich aristocratic life to live among desert-dwellers in Algeria, wrote to a friend, “to receive the grace of God you must go to a desert place and stay awhile…so that God can build his hermitage within…” But the irony of desert places is that they’re…
Holy Name Catholic Preschool, Ketchikan Holy Name Catholic Preschool has had a year unlike any other! Yet, our mission, values and experience have stayed the same. We used new ways to explore and learn while keeping each other as safe and healthy as possible. 2020 proved to be different in a few ways for Holy…
By Tami M. ScimeThe North Star Catholic Nestled at the northern end of the Lynn Canal in a valley bordering Canada is the small town of Skagway. Founded in 1897, its population during the height of the gold rush swelled to over 3000. While Skagway might see a higher population during a typical summer season,…