Timeline: Supporting the Catholic Church in Alaska
Catholic Extension Society offers unwavering support to the faithful over great distances and time
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We are so grateful to everyone who participated in our #GivingTuesday campaign to support the Catholic Church in Alaska! Your prayers and gifts bring warmth and light to so many isolated faith communities across the state.
Watch the video to hear a few words of thank you, or quyana, from faith leaders in Alaska.
Since Catholic Extension Society first provided support to Alaska in 1906, the region has remained one of the most challenging environments for the Church to reach people.
Through the generosity of our donors, Catholic Extension Society is committed to supporting the parishes, programs and leaders who serve God’s children in the remote areas of Alaska. This includes individuals like our 2021-2022 Lumen Christi Award recipient Father Stan Jaszek, a modern-day missionary priest who serves the Yup’ik people on the banks of the Bering Sea in the Diocese of Fairbanks.
In recognition of Father Jaszek, we held a special Giving Tuesday campaign to support the Catholic Church in Alaska. Thanks to a Matching Gift Challenge Fund, we tripled each gift to support these isolated faith communities.
Watch the video below to hear a special message from our president, Father Jack Wall, about how our donors made a difference this Giving Tuesday.
Your impact in Alaska will be tripled with your gift!
Here are a few ways your gift can make 3x the difference:
Your gift of $40 becomes $120. This can help bring priests to some of the most remote villages in the country to share God’s love and deliver the sacraments.
Your gift of $75 becomes $225. This can develop Native Alaskan lay leaders and deacons.
Your gift of $150 becomes $450. This can support the education of seminarians in Alaska.
Your gift of $300 becomes $900. This can help enrich the faith lives of youth through religious education and young adult ministries.
Your gift of $500 becomes $1,500. This can keep parishes alive in isolated villages across Alaska.
Catholic Extension Society’s support is critical to strengthening the presence of the Catholic Church in Alaska. The state’s bishop and archbishop recently expressed their appreciation for the prayers and generosity of our donors:
Archbishop Andrew Bellisario, CM, of the Archdiocese of Anchorage-Juneau
We couldn’t be effective without Catholic Extension Society. We’re very dependent on Catholic Extension Society because we are a missionary archdiocese. I see Catholic Extension Society’s effect everywhere, not only in building churches but in the education of our priests as well. We are deeply grateful to Catholic Extension Society.”
Bishop Chad Zielinski of the Diocese of Fairbanks
Almost every one of our village churches has a little plaque that says the church was provided by the generosity of donors to Catholic Extension Society. Catholic Extension Society’s grants are pervasive throughout the entire diocese and the programs serving our indigenous people throughout the remote villages.”