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Catholic
Prior to the cession of Alaska to the
United States, no Catholic priest had sojourned in the territory. In
1872, Francis Mercier, chief agent of the Alaska Commercial Company at
Nuklukhoyit, alarmed at the constantly threatening of the Ten'a on the
Yukon and Tanana, took steps to introduce Catholic missionaries among
them. He invited the Oblates of Mary Immaculate to take up the work. In
the autumn of 1871, Bishop Clut, of the Athabascan-MacKenzie district,
with two companions, Father Lecorre and an Indian interpreter named
Silvar, crossed over the mountains and wintered at Fort Yukon. The
following spring the three sailed down the Yukon river to Nuklukhoyit,
where they met a large number of natives from Tanana and Koyokuk
districts. They then continued their journey down the river, instructing
both Ten'a and Eskimo adults and baptizing their children.
Notwithstanding the opposition shown by
the Shamans and the Russianized natives, the Oblates considered the
prospects so bright that they decided to establish stations on the
Yukon. After spending a year in reconnoitering, Bishop Clut returned to
his own missions, leaving Father Lecorre in residence at St. Michael at
the mouth of the river. The missionary stayed there until 1874, when the
news came to him that the spiritual jurisdiction of the Alaskan
territory had been entrusted to the Bishop of Victoria, the saintly
Charles John Seghers, who ultimately gave up his life in the work.
In July, 1877, this prelate, with one companion, Father Mandart, made a
preliminary voyage to St. Michael, and went up the river as far as
Nulato. During the following winter he visited many native villages, and
in doing so underwent severe privations. Before his return to
civilization, he promised the Ten'a that he would establish missions
among them. In the interval, Bishop Seghers was transferred to Oregon
City as Coadjutor to Archbishop Blanchet. However, his first visit to
Alaska produced immediate results.
In 1878, Father Althoff went to reside at Wrangel, in southeastern
Alaska, from which he visited the Cassiar country and the coast. He was
transferred to Juneau in 1885, were he was joined by Father Heynen, who
was sent to aid him in his labours at Sitka. These two apostolic men
were the pioneers of the Church in southeastern Alaska. They lived in a
log cabin, in the utter isolation of primitive missionary life,
preaching the gospel to Thlinket and white man alike. In September,
1886, Father Althoff brought to Juneau the Sisters of St. Ann, for the
service of the new hospital, and thenceforth always ascribed his success
to their faithful co-operation. The names of those devoted women —
Sister M. Zeno, Sister M. Bonsecours, and Sister M. Victor — deserve to
be recorded.
Bishop Seghers had meanwhile secured
his reappointment to the See of Victoria, and resumed his plans, long
delayed, for the conversion of the Alaskan tribes. He invited the
Society of Jesus to undertake the work of evangelizing the territory. In
July of that year, the prelate — now Archbishop Seghers — accompanied by
two Jesuits, Father Pascal Tosi and Aloysius Robaut, and a hired man
named Fuller, started over the Chilcoot Pass for the headwaters of the
Yukon.
It was decided that the two Jesuits should remain for the winter at the
mouth of the Stewart river, while the Bishop, with the servant Fuller,
should proceed in haste to Nulato, not only to keep the promise he had
made to the Ten'a six years previously, but to forestall the members of
a sect who contemplated establishing themselves at that spot. During the
1,100-mile journey, Fuller developed symptoms of insanity, and at times
threatened the Archbishop insolently. At Yessetlatoh, near the mouth of
the Koyukuk, they took up quarters in an abandoned fishing cabin. On the
morning of 25 November Fuller aroused the prelate from his sleep,
pointed a rifle at him and shot him through the heart. Death was
instantaneous. The remains of the murdered Archbishop were taken down
the Yukon river to St. Michael, whence, two years later, they were
transferred to the crypt of the cathedral in Victoria, B.C. The murderer
was subsequently tried, convicted, and sentenced to ten years'
imprisonment. This tragedy changed the condition of mission work in
Alaska; new and complicated problems presented themselves to the
Jesuits.
Father Tosi went to Europe, where he met the President of the Society
for the Propagation of the Faith at Lyons, who contributed $4,000
towards the support of the Alaskan missions. A decree of the Propaganda,
dated 17 July, 1894, raised Alaska to a Prefecture Apostolic, with
Father Tosi, S.J. as the first incumbent of the office. He exercised his
duties as prefect Apostolic until March, 1897, when he resigned, owing
to failing health, and died, at the age of 51, at Juneau, 14 January,
1898. The Very Rev. John B. René, S. J., was appointed to his place. He
resigned in March, 1904, and was succeeded by the present incumbent, the
Very Rev. Joseph R. Crimont. The conditions of the Alaskan mission have
changed greatly since the advent of the first missionaries.
The discovery of placer-gold mines, and the influx of miners into Alaska
robbed Alaska of much of its primitive isolation. There are resident
Jesuit priests at Juneau, Douglas, Fairbanks, Nome, Skagway, St. Michael
and Seward. From these centers, white missions are attended at
Ketchikan, Wrangel, Eagle City, Circle City, Forty Mile Post, Golden
City, Council City, Sitka, Haines, Valdez, Chenilia, Kliketari, Pastolic,
Picmetallic, Steben, etc. Among the native tribes there have also been
missions, exclusively Ten'a, on the Yukon at Koserefsky and Nulato.
The Eskimos in the Nome district on the Kuskokwim and in the Yukon Delta
are also attended by Jesuit Fathers and Brothers. In southeastern
Alaska, owing to lack of men and means, no Catholic mission among the
Thlinkets have yet been established. A training-school for boys and
girls exists at Holy Cross mission near Koserefsky. The girls are under
the care of the Sisters of St. Ann. These native children are taught the
arts of cooking, sewing, etc., the boys, with the Jesuit lay brothers as
instructors, are taught gardening, carpentry, and smithing of various
kinds. The lives of the missionaries who are devoting themselves
exclusively to the native population are lives of intense isolation, but
their personal sufferings and inconveniences count for little when there
are souls to be saved.
Source:
Crimont, Joseph. "Alaska."
The Catholic Encyclopedia.
Vol. 1. New York:
Robert Appleton Company, 1907.
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