Pioneer Bishops of Alaska

The hierarchy was not established in Alaska until 1917.  For more information about Alaska, see my blog of January 16, 2017.

Pope Leo XIII made the Alaskan territory a Prefecture Apostolic in 1894 under the care of the Jesuits.  Father Pascal Tosi was appointed as the first Prefect Apostolic and he established his headquarters in Juneau.  Pope Benedict XV made Alaska a Vicariate Apostolic in 1917—five years after Alaska became a Territory—and named Father Joseph R. Crimont, S.J., who was serving as the prefect apostolic, as its first Bishop.  Crimont died in 1945 and was succeeded by Walter J. Fitzgerald, S.J., who served as Vicar Apostolic until his death in 1947.  His successor was Bishop Francis Gleeson, S.J.

Pope Pius XII established the Diocese of Juneau in 1951—making Alaska the last State to have a diocese.  The new diocese consisted of the southern half of Alaska.  Bishop Gleeson took charge of a new Vicariate Apostolic in northern Alaska, headquartered at Fairbanks.  The Diocese of Fairbanks was created in 1962—three years after Alaska became a State—and Bishop Gleeson was named its first bishop.  Pope Paul VI created a new Province of Anchorage in 1966.  The Province initially consisted of the Archdiocese of Anchorage and the dioceses of Juneau and Fairbanks.  The Archdiocese of Anchorage and the Diocese of Juneau merged in 2020.