Roman Catholic Diocese of Fairbanks


The Roman Catholic Diocese of 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.

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.

Sex Abuse and Bankruptcy

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". When bankruptcy was officially filed in 2012, it was acknowledged that reports of abuse spanned "over the last six decades." Over time, the Diocese's list of "credibly accused" clergy grew as well.

Diocese demographics

As of 2015, the diocese contains 47 parishes and 17 priests, providing service to 13,500 Catholics, in an area of, 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
;Vicars Apostolic of Alaska
;Vicar Apostolic of Northern Alaska
;Bishops of Fairbanks
;Coadjutor Bishops of Fairbanks
;Other priests of this diocese who became bishop
Services are provided in English. But due to the growing Hispanic population in Fairbanks, services are also provided in Spanish.
The diocese has 2 schools for education.

Health Care

Due to the vast area, low population density, and financial restraints, the diocese has no hospitals.
The diocese provides communication to its community by: