Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Anchorage

Archdiocese of Anchorage
Archidioecesis Ancoragiensis

The coat of arms of the Archdiocese of Anchorage
Location
Country United States
Territory Southern Alaska
Ecclesiastical province Province of Anchorage
Metropolitan Anchorage, Alaska
Population
- Catholics
(as of 2006)
28,136
Information
Denomination Roman Catholic
Rite Roman Rite
Established January 22, 1966
Cathedral Cathedral of the Holy Family
Patron saint St. Joseph the Worker
St. Therese of Lisieux
Current leadership
Pope Benedict XVI
Archbishop Roger Lawrence Schwietz, OMI
Archbishop of Anchorage
Emeritus Bishops Francis Thomas Hurley
Website
archdioceseofanchorage.org

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Anchorage 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. It is led by a prelate archbishop which serves as pastor of the mother church, Cathedral of the Holy Family in the Municipality of Anchorage. The archbishop is concurrently metropolitan bishop of the suffragan dioceses of the Province of Anchorage: Fairbanks and Juneau.

The See of Anchorage was canonically erected on January 22, 1966. It took its territories from the Diocese of Juneau. Anchorage's large population and burgeoning community development rectified the creation of a new archdiocese in the city as opposed to elevating the already existing Diocese of Juneau to that rank.

The Archdiocese played host to visits from Pope John Paul II multiple times, most notably in 1980 when he celebrated Mass on the Anchorage Park Strip before 50,000 people.

Bishops

The bishops who have led the diocese are:

High schools

External links