Sacred Heart Cathedral (Fairbanks, Alaska)

Last updated
Sacred Heart Cathedral
Sacred Heart Cathedral, Fairbanks, Alaska.JPG
Sacred Heart Cathedral, Fairbanks
USA Alaska location map.svg
Red pog.svg
64°50′11″N147°46′50″W / 64.83639°N 147.78056°W / 64.83639; -147.78056
Location2501 Airport Way
Fairbanks, Alaska Flag of Alaska.svg
CountryUnited States
Denomination Roman Catholic Church
Website sacredheartak.org
History
Status Cathedral
Dedication Sacred Heart of Jesus
Architecture
Style Modern
Completed1966
Specifications
Number of spires One
Materials Brick veneer
Administration
Province Archdiocese of Anchorage–Juneau
Diocese Fairbanks
Clergy
Bishop(s) Most Rev. Steven Maekawa, O.P.

Sacred Heart Cathedral is a cathedral of the Catholic Church in the United States. It is the mother church of the Diocese of Fairbanks and is the seat of the bishop of the diocese. [1] It is located in the City of Fairbanks in the state of Alaska and sits close to the geographic center of the city.

Contents

History

Prior to the construction of Sacred Heart, Immaculate Conception Church in downtown Fairbanks served as the city's cathedral. Ground was broken for Sacred Heart Cathedral in 1962 on a large tract of land at the intersection of Airport and Peger Roads. Just a few years before, this area was largely wilderness, until the development of residential subdivisions and the A-67 site to the north of the cathedral. The Rev. James Spils, S.J. served as construction superintendent. He was responsible for other construction projects in Alaska as well. [2] The project proceeded slowly and work was done as money became available. The first Mass was celebrated on Palm Sunday, April 3, 1966, and the cathedral was consecrated by Bishop Francis Doyle Gleeson, S.J., on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, June 17, 1966. Jesuit priests served the parish until 1982, when priests from the Diocese of Fairbanks took over. [2] Bishop Donald Joseph Kettler served as the parish's pastor from 2007 to 2013.

The expansion of Airport Road into the Airport Way expressway during the 1970s placed the cathedral's north wall very close to the road, which increased its architectural prominence to passing traffic. Peger Road, which originally led from Airport Road two miles south to a homestead along a section line, has also been expanded steadily over the years. Peger Road is farther away from the structure, and therefore it is not as prominent to traffic along that road.

The tract of land upon which the cathedral sits is also home to the diocesan offices, a rectory, a Knights of Columbus hall and maintenance buildings, as well as additional residences for priests, nuns and others.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sacred Heart Cathedral (Davenport, Iowa)</span> Church in Iowa, United States

Sacred Heart Cathedral, located in Davenport, Iowa, United States, is a Catholic cathedral and a parish church in the Diocese of Davenport. The cathedral is located on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River to the east of Downtown Davenport. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Cathedral Complex. This designation includes the church building, rectory, and the former convent, which was torn down in 2012. The cathedral is adjacent to the Cork Hill Historic District, also on the National Register. Its location on Cork Hill, a section of the city settled by Irish immigrants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Anchorage–Juneau</span> Catholic archdiocese in Alaska

The Archdiocese of Anchorage–Juneau is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, in southern Alaska in the United States. The archdiocese has a single suffragan diocese, the Diocese of Fairbanks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Fairbanks</span> Latin Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Alaska, United States

The Diocese of Fairbanks is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the northern part of the state of Alaska in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Juneau</span> Former diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Alaska, United States

The Diocese of Juneau was a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northwestern United States, comprising the southeastern part of the state of Alaska. It was led by a prelate bishop who served as pastor of the mother church, Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Juneau. The diocese of Juneau was a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Anchorage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathedral Parish of Saint Patrick (El Paso, Texas)</span> Church in Texas, United States

St. Patrick Cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of El Paso, Texas. The cathedral is located at 1118 N. Mesa Street, north of the downtown area. It is the mother church for 668,000 Catholics in the diocese. The cathedral parish operates one of El Paso's Catholic high schools, Cathedral High School, and St. Patrick Elementary School adjacent to the church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston–Houston</span> Latin Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Texas, USA

The Archdiocese of Galveston–Houston is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction—an archdiocese—of the Catholic Church in the United States. The archdiocese covers a portion of Southeast Texas, and is the metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province covering east-Texas. The archdiocese was erected in 2004, having been a diocese since 1959 and the "Diocese of Galveston" since 1847. It is the second metropolitan see in Texas after the Archdiocese of San Antonio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden</span> Latin Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction in New Jersey, USA

The Diocese of Camden s is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It consists of 62 parishes and about 475,000 Catholics in the South Jersey counties of Atlantic, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart (Houston)</span> Church in Texas, United States

The Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart is a place of worship located at 1111 St. Joseph Parkway in downtown Houston. The co-cathedral seats 1,820 people in its 32,000-square-foot (3,000 m2) sanctuary. Together with the venerable St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica in Galveston, Sacred Heart serves more than 1.2 million Roman Catholics in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Lawrence Schwietz</span> American prelate

Roger Lawrence Schwietz, O.M.I. is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. Schwietz served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Anchorage in Alaska from 2001 to 2016. He previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Duluth in Minnesota from 1989 to 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael William Warfel</span> American prelate

Michael William Warfel is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who was bishop of the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings in Montana from 2007 to 2023. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Juneau in Alaska from 1996 to 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathedral of the Sacred Heart (Pueblo, Colorado)</span> Historic church in Colorado, United States

The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart or Sacred Heart Church is a historic church located at 414 West 11th Street in Pueblo, Colorado. It is the mother church of the Diocese of Pueblo.

Robert Louis Whelan, SJ was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Fairbanks in Alaska from 1969 to 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Catherine of Siena Church (Trumbull, Connecticut)</span> Church in Connecticut, United States

St. Catherine of Siena is a Roman Catholic parish in Trumbull, Connecticut, part of the Diocese of Bridgeport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sacred Heart Cathedral (Rochester, New York)</span> Church in New York, United States

The Sacred Heart Cathedral is a Catholic cathedral in Rochester, New York, United States. The renovated cathedral is the Mother Church of the Diocese of Rochester and seat of the diocesan bishop, as well as home to a parish community. The parish is currently known as the Cathedral Community at The Sacred Heart Cathedral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert D. Gruss</span>

Robert Dwayne Gruss is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has served as the seventh bishop of the Diocese of Saginaw in Michigan since 2019. Gruss previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Rapid City in South Dakota from 2011 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basilica of the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart</span> Historic church in West Virginia, United States

The Basilica of the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart is a cathedral church and a minor basilica located in Charleston, West Virginia, United States. Along with the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Wheeling it is the seat of the Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston. The parish complex is a contributing property in the Downtown Charleston Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Cathedral of St. Joseph is a Catholic cathedral in St. Joseph, Missouri, United States. Along with the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Kansas City, Missouri it is the seat of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. The Cathedral Church, rectory and convent are all contributing properties to the Cathedral Hill Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. The school building and the auditorium do not contribute to the historical nature of the district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chad Zielinski</span> American Roman Catholic priest and bishop

Chad William Zielinski is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who is the fifth bishop of the Diocese of New Ulm in Minnesota. He previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Fairbanks in Alaska from 2014 to 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sacred Heart Church, Exeter</span> Church in Devon, United Kingdom

Sacred Heart Church is a Roman Catholic Parish church in Exeter, Devon, England. It is a part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Plymouth. It was built from 1883 to 1884 and designed by Leonard Stokes. It is situated on the corner of South Street and Bear Street, close to Exeter Cathedral in the centre of the city. It is a Gothic Revival church and a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Maekawa</span>

Steven John Maekawa, OP is an American prelate and Dominican friar of the Catholic Church who serves as bishop for the Diocese of Fairbanks in Alaska. At the time of his appointment, he was serving as a priest in the Archdiocese of Anchorage–Juneau, where he served as the pastor of Holy Family Old Cathedral.

References

  1. "Sacred Heart Cathedral". GCatholic. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  2. 1 2 "Cathedral History". Sacred Heart Cathedral. Archived from the original on 2012-03-24. Retrieved 2011-10-12.