"The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed which...becomes a tree..." (Mt. 31-32) 

The establishment of the Catholic Church in Juneau has its roots as far back as 1776 when two priests, who were part of a Spanish exploration that had sailed up along the Pacific coast from California, celebrated the first Mass in Alaska at Bucareli Bay (near the current community of Craig) on Ascension Day of that year.

By the late 1800s there was sufficient interest in Rome (after the United States had purchased Alaska from the Russians) regarding the growing Catholic population of the new territory. As a result, it was placed under the jurisdiction of Bishop John Seghers, bishop of Victoria, BC, since his diocese was the closest one at the time. He visited Alaska in 1873 and established St. Rose of Lima parish in Wrangell in 1879. Fr. John Althoff was assigned as its pastor, and he established missions in Sitka and Juneau to serve the Catholic population.

In 1885 Fr. John Althoff was reassigned to pastor the growing gold-mining community in the Silverbow Basin area of Juneau. With the help of the miners, he built a small wooden church on Fifth Street, thus overlooking the expanding city. That primative building was used until 1910 when the present building was erected and dedicated as the Church of the Nativity the Blessed Virgin Mary. Since then, a continuous Catholic presence has existed at that location. It became a cathedral parish in 1951 when the southern and southeastern parts of the vicariate of Alaska were split off and became the Diocese of Juneau.

Since then the cathedral community has grown, and it now inhabits a full city block bounded by Fifth, Harris, Sixth, and Gold Streets. That section of land is home to the Cathedral itself, the Rectory, the St. Ann Parish Hall and Education Center, and the Crimont Business Center that housed the chancery up until the Diocese of Juneau was merged with the Archdiocese of Anchorage on May 20, 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

To this day our parish holds the honor of being the smallest cathedral in the United States. Small though we may be, we are nonetheless a vibrant faith community. We welcome all residents of Juneau as well as any vistors from out of state as well as from other countries who choose to visit our beautiful city, whether by ferry, commercial airliner, or any of the cruise ships that frequent our harbor mid-April to mid-September.

So come join us for Mass—or, if you're a visitor,  just stop by when you're in town. We would love to meet you and share our faith message with you.