Easter images from across Alaska
To view Holy Week and Easter images from across the Archdiocese of Anchorage, check out the Catholic Anchor Facebook page here.
EDITOR’S PICKS
Husband, kids to join mom as Catholics
“I hadn’t ever been to a Catholic Church before,” Glenn Crocker recalls. “I was interested in it and started RCIA, and it spoke to me. I really enjoy the classes. I’ve been going every Tuesday. I never walk away from it regretting that I came. I learn so much. It’s one thing I think you don’t get so much in the Baptist church or other denominations. Yes, you get some, but it’s more localized and less consistent.”
Beloved Catholic cemetery manager & grave digger dies
Editor’s note: Much beloved Dave Belanger, the longtime manager of Catholic cemeteries for the Anchorage Archdiocese, passed away on the morning of Good Friday after a long struggle with cancer. Below is a Catholic Anchor article which appeared in 2007 featuring Dave and his wife Priscilla who both spent countless hours burying the dead and caring for those who were left behind.
News & upcoming events
Here’s a rundown of news briefs and upcoming events from across the Anchorage Archdiocese.
’64 Good Friday quake grabbed Rome’s attention, led to archdiocese
In the wake of the devastating earthquake, Anchorage drew the attention of Rome. A papal representative, had visited Anchorage before the earthquake to bless the city’s first Catholic school. He came back immediately after the earthquake to see the devastation. Observing how large Anchorage was, he recommended it become its own diocese. The proposal then went to Pope Paul VI who created the archdiocese in 1966.
Childhood trauma has far-reaching consequences
As the Archdiocese of Anchorage recognizes Child Abuse Awareness Month in April, the Archdiocesan Office of Safe Environment invited a guest writer Marg Volz to show the connection between negative childhood experiences and consequences to emotional and physical health. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops encourages all dioceses to focus on this designation to learn how child abuse goes against the basic premise of Catholic teaching on the dignity human persons.
EDITORIAL: Newcomers’ enthusiasm can spur the faithful
CatholicAnchor.org Most Alaskans have entertained a visitor for a few days, venturing out to hike, fish, camp, canoe and visit places we’ve long neglected. The outsider’s enthusiasm spurs us to take a second look at this great land we call home. In some ways Alaska is a bit like Catholicism — vast, filled with the…
Seminarian journey concluding: ‘How blessed these years have been’
In a few months I will return to Alaska. It is the bookend of another trip I took five and a half years ago when entering St. Paul Seminary in Minnesota to begin my formation as a Catholic priest for the Archdiocese of Anchorage. As this journey comes to an end it is natural to look back on this blessed time.
Alaska priest historian captured stories for future generations
In the fall of 1965, Father Renner began a 15-year career teaching at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. He taught mostly German, but also he started the university’s Latin program. Over the years, he traveled extensively across Alaska gathering material for a series of books, including “Alaskana Catholica,” an encyclopedic look at the history of Catholicism in the state.
Anchorage monastery’s mission continues after 2 founding nuns die
“A very diverse yet tightly-knit spiritual family has grown up around the monastery,” explained Therese Syren, a parishioner of Holy Family Cathedral, whose family was instrumental in building the monastery 30 years ago. “Any given day one can find a half-dozen nationalities represented in the congregation at Holy Mass there,” she said. The deaths of the monastery’s two eldest nuns are great losses, but their congregation’s mission is unchanged, explained Father Lilly. “Their work will definitely continue,” he said.