Sister Ann Fallon, 89, former superintendent of schools for the Anchorage Archdiocese, is celebrating her 70th year as an Adrian Dominican sister. From 2006-2011 she lived and served in Alaska, helping unite Catholic schools across the Anchorage Archdiocese into a Catholic school system. She also helped launch Our Lady of the Valley School in Wasilla.
Finding real community, even within a church, isn’t always easy. It takes effort. Fall is the time when churches are gearing up for classes and other activities. To find and foster community, take the chance and get involved with a parish committee or the class that’s exploring Scripture. Merely showing up on Sunday morning is not enough to forge community. It’s just a start.
The Alaskan community from which my vocation sprang has always been and will always be in the heart of my priestly ministry.
Despite being founded by Jesus Christ and enduring for 2,000 years, the Catholic Church is not like a mountain range or old growth forest, which could endure even if all humankind were wiped from the face of the earth.
A recent study by Care Net and Lifeway revealed that four out of every 10 abortions are performed on women who are actively involved in a church. The study reveals that many of these women never share their decision with anyone at their church.
In a time when many Catholic leaders are desperately looking for ways to engage teens, an event in Anchorage continues to inspire youth to dig into their Bibles, Catechisms and the teaching documents of the Catholic Church.
The newly appointed Archbishop of Anchorage, Bishop Paul Etienne, will be formally installed on Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. at Our Lady of Guadalupe Co-Cathedral in Anchorage. A solemn evening of prayer will proceed the installation on Nov. 8, 7 p.m., at Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage. The public is invited to attend these events.
After 38 years working for the Anchorage Archdiocese, Vice Chancellor Eileen Kramer officially stepped down Aug. 31. Fondly known as “The Relic,” the much respected and devoted Kramer’s career spanned all three archbishops of Anchorage — Archbishop Joseph Ryan, Archbishop Francis Hurley and current Archbishop Roger Schwietz, who is slated to retire on Nov. 9 when Wyoming Bishop Paul Etienne takes over as the fourth archbishop of Anchorage.
The Diocese of Fairbanks has lost a second priest in less than a month. On Oct. 12, the diocese reported that long-serving Jesuit Father Ted Kestler died in a fire.
In an Oct. 11 blog post Wyoming Bishop Paul Etienne said he “will be at home” as the new Archbishop of Anchorage. Slated to be installed as archbishop on Nov. 9, he wrote that he was thankful to retiring Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz for his “warm welcome and hospitality” during Bishop Etienne’s two day visit, Oct. 4-5, to his future archdiocese.