Roman Catholic Diocese of Fairbanks

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fairbanks (Latin: Dioecesis de Fairbanks) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the northwestern United States, comprising the northern regions of the state of Alaska. It is led by a bishop who serves as pastor of the mother church, Sacred Heart Cathedral in the City of Fairbanks. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Anchorage-Juneau.

Diocese of Fairbanks

Dioecesis de Fairbanks
Sacred Heart Cathedral
Location
CountryUnited States
TerritoryNorthern Alaska
Ecclesiastical provinceAnchorage
Statistics
Area409,849 sq mi (1,061,500 km2)
Population
- Total
- Catholics		(as of 2016)
167,544
12,475 (7.4%)
Parishes46
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
EstablishedAugust 8, 1962 (1962-08-08)
CathedralSacred Heart Cathedral
Patron saintSt. Therese of Lisieux
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopChad Zielinski
Map
Website
dioceseoffairbanks.org

History

The See of Fairbanks was established from the Prefecture Apostolic of Alaska on July 27, 1894, which was created from the Diocese of Vancouver Island. It was elevated to an apostolic vicariate on December 22, 1916. The Diocese of Juneau was carved out of the apostolic vicariate on June 23, 1951. On August 8, 1962, the apostolic vicariate was elevated to a diocese.

The first seven bishops of Fairbanks were missionaries of the Society of Jesus. On June 7, 2002, Pope John Paul II appointed Donald Joseph Kettler as the first non-Jesuit bishop of Fairbanks.

On November 12, 2019, the Vatican removed Fairbanks from its list of missionary dioceses and transferred control of the diocese from the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples to the Congregation of Bishops. Bishop Zielinski said that he hoped the move would help the priest shortage in the diocese; at the time of the announcement the diocese had 46 parishes but only 17 priests.[1]

Sex Abuse and Bankruptcy
Main article: Sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic diocese of Fairbanks

In February 2008, the diocese announced plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, claiming inability to pay the 140 plaintiffs who filed claims against the diocese for sexual abuse by priests or church workers dating from the 1950s to the early 1980s. The Society of Jesus, Oregon Province, was named as a co-defendant in the case, and settled for $50 million. The Diocese, which reports an operating budget of approximately $6 million, claims one of the diocese's insurance carriers failed to "participate meaningfully".[2][3][4][5] When bankruptcy was officially filed in 2012, it was acknowledged that reports of abuse spanned "over the last six decades."[6] Over time, the Diocese's list of "credibly accused" clergy grew as well.[7]

Diocese demographics

As of 2015, the diocese contains 47 parishes and 17 priests, providing service to 13,500 Catholics, in an area of 409,849 square miles (1,061,500 km2), making it the largest diocese in the United States geographically. It also has seven religious sisters and two religious brothers.

Ordinaries/Bishops
Prefects of Alaska[8]
Vicars Apostolic of Alaska[9]
Vicar Apostolic of Northern Alaska[10]
Bishops of Fairbanks
Coadjutor Bishops of Fairbanks
Other priests of this diocese who became bishop

Churches & locations

Services are provided in English. But due to the growing Hispanic population in Fairbanks, services are also provided in Spanish.

Education

The diocese has 2 schools for education.

Charitable Organizations

Health Care

Due to the vast area, low population density, and financial restraints, the diocese has no hospitals.

  • Hospital ministry - Catholic services to the sick & injured in existing hospitals & nursing homes.
  • Stephen ministry - interdenominational companions for people in grief, illness, loss, family breakdown, etc.

Media

The diocese provides communication to its community by:

  • The Alaskan Shepherd, a newsletter
  • KNOM radio. Established in 1971, KNOM is the oldest Catholic radio station in the country.
  • KQHE radio. Established in 2012.

See also
  • Ecclesiastical Province of Anchorage
  • Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States
  • List of Roman Catholic archdioceses (by country and continent)
  • List of Roman Catholic dioceses (alphabetical) (including archdioceses)
  • List of Roman Catholic dioceses (structured view) (including archdioceses)

Footnotes
  1. Guidos, Rhina (November 12, 2019). "Fairbanks bishop hopes move will help priest shortage". Catholic News Service. Catholic Philly. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  2. "Fairbanks Catholic Diocese filing for bankruptcy". KTUU.com. WorldNow. 2008-02-15. Archived from the original on 2009-06-02. Retrieved 2008-03-03. More than 150 claims were filed against the church for alleged crimes at the hands of clergy or church workers between the 1950s and 1980s.
  3. United Press International (2008-02-15). "Diocese of Fairbanks plans bankruptcy". ArcaMax. ArcaMax Publishing, Inc. Archived from the original on December 21, 2012. Retrieved 2008-03-03. Robert Hannon, who serves as a special assistant to Bishop Donald Kettler and is the diocesan chancellor, told the Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News that officials believe bankruptcy is the fairest way to compensate victims.
  4. Baldino, Megan (2008-02-15). "Diocese of Fairbanks to file for bankruptcy". CNA. Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2008-03-03. The negotiations allegedly failed because one of the diocese's insurance carriers did not 'participate meaningfully.' ... Robert Hannon, chancellor and special assistant to Bishop Donald Kettler, said bankruptcy would provide a way for church assets to be distributed fairly among abuse victims.
  5. "Diocese hopes to continue operations despite Chapter 11 petition". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Archived from the original on 2008-05-06.
  6. https://www.archbalt.org/number-of-sex-abuse-claimants-reaches-288-in-fairbanks-diocese/
  7. https://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2018/12/20/priests-and-members-of-diocese-of-fairbanks-named-as-perpetrators-of-sexual-abuse/
  8. Jurisdiction for the entire territory now compromising the State of Alaska.
  9. Jurisdiction for the entire territory now compromising the State of Alaska
  10. Jurisdiction for the territory now compromising the Diocese of Fairbanks

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.