Territory Southern Alaska Parishes 23 Rite Roman Rite Cathedral Holy Family Cathedral Country United States of America | Ecclesiastical province Anchorage Denomination Roman Catholic Area 359,970 km² Phone +1 907-297-7700 | |
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Population
- Total
- Catholics (as of 2012)
460,000
33,800 (7.3%) Address 225 Cordova St, Anchorage, AK 99501, USA Similar Holy Family Cathedral, Holy Cross Parish, Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, St Benedict's Catholic, St Anthony Catholic Church | ||
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Anchorage (Latin: Archidioecesis Ancoragiensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the northwestern United States, comprising several boroughs and census areas in the state of Alaska. The Archdiocese is led by a prelate archbishop who serves as pastor of the mother church, the Cathedral of the Holy Family in the Municipality of Anchorage.
Contents
History
The See of Anchorage was canonically erected on January 22, 1966 by Pope Paul VI. The archdiocese's territories came from the Diocese of Juneau. Anchorage's large population and burgeoning community development warranted the creation of a new archdiocese in the city as opposed to elevating the already existing Diocese of Juneau to that rank.
The Archdiocese hosted visits from Pope John Paul II multiple times, most notably in 1981 when he celebrated Mass on the Anchorage Park Strip before 50,000 people.
Ordinaries
The list of archbishops and their years of service:
- John Joseph Thomas Ryan (1966–1975)
- Francis Thomas Hurley (1976–2001)
- Roger Lawrence Schwietz, O.M.I. (2001–2016)
- Paul Dennis Etienne (2016-Present)
High schools
Publications
The Archdiocese of Anchorage publishes a monthly newspaper, Catholic Anchor, which has approximately 11,000 subscribers. It was established in April 1999.
Suffragan sees
The ecclesiastical province of Anchorage comprises the state of Alaska and includes these suffragan dioceses.