When the Novus Ordo Missae was
introduced to the Anchorage area in the early 1970's,
traditionally-minded Roman Catholics began attending the
Byzantine Catholic church of St. Nicholas of Myra, where Msgr.
Artim, who was noted for his conservative nature, was the
pastor. Around 1985 however, Msgr. Artim suffered a heart
attack and a liberally-minded priest was assigned to St.
Nicholas, who began to implement various liturgical changes (e.g.,
the Filioque was dropped as the new priest was adamant
that it should not be used), while sermons were liberal in
nature and critical of Catholic Tradition and even Archbishop
Lefebvre.
Meanwhile, the Bradley family that had
attended the SSPX's Queen of Angels Church in Houston, TX had
moved to the Anchorage area. In February 1986, Fr. Daniel
Couture contacted them and asked if they would like to have
Mass in Anchorage, as he was already going to Juno for that
purpose. The answer was of course yes, and the first
SSPX's Mass for Anchorage was in a classroom at Fair Valley
School whose use was obtained for free. About 20 people were
present for the first Mass which was offered by Fr. Ranger.
On that fateful night, Mr. Bradley (RIP) showed Fr. Ranger his
St. Joseph's Bookstore, which was actually a former house.
It had a spare room, and from then on, Mass was offered here.
A few months later in the Fall, Mr. Bradley expanded the
building to better suit its use as a chapel.
After Fr. Ranger, a succession of priests
would take over the once-a-month Alaska circuit, which once
also included Juno and Fairbanks, though these missions are
now closed. Now serviced from the SSPX's priory in Veneta
(Eugene), OR, the Anchorage mission regularly has 150 faithful
attending the monthly Sunday Mass.