Hooper Bay - Little Flower of Jesus Catholic Church
Hooper Bay is a Central Yup'ik Eskimo village on the Bering Sea Coast in western Alaska.
Roman Catholic presence came early to that region when it was visited by Catholic missionaries around the 1890's. Early on, the missionaries had very little impact on the local populace because of the presence of other Christian denominations such as the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Covenant. The missionaries felt at a disadvantage: the preachers were teachers employed by the Federal Government and seemed to have more influence with the villagers. However that may be, Catholic influence began with Jesuit missionary, Fr. Anthony Keyes and his associate, Jesuit Brother Aloysius Laird, who came from Holy Cross. They both arrived in 1928 with men and materials to build a church and living quarters. Hooper Bay's first Catholic Church was quickly finished by a layman, Mr. Jimmy Droane. Fr. Menager, S.J., replaced Fr. Keyes in September of that year and took charge of the new mission. Fr. Menager dedicated the mission church to the Little Flower of Jesus.
The indefatigable Fr. John Fox, S.J., the Jesuit who served the longest at Hooper Bay, came to the Little Flower Parish in 1931 and worked there until 1946. During his ministry, Fr. Fox founded an order of Eskimo Sisters in 1932 and called it the Sisters of Our Lady of the Snows. The Sisters were to help him "evangelize the villages." They were later disbanded due to lack of numbers by Bishop Walter Fitzgerald, S.J., (1939-1947) after thirteen years in existence. Among his myriad duties as Pastor, Fr. Fox also served as captain for the Alaska Territorial Guard and headed the Hooper Bay Company during WW II. He also served as the village's first post-master and radio operator. For 15 years during his tenure at Hooper Bay, Fr. Fox traveled frequently via dog sled in order to minister to other outlying mission stations.
Many Jesuits including Frs. Fox, Menager and Keyes served the Little Flower of Jesus parish. Some of these were: Frs. Paul O'Connor, Henry Hargreaves, Norman Donohue, George Endal, James Laudwein, James Jacobson, Bernard McMeel, Daniel Tainter, Richard McCaffrey. In 1977, Fr. McMeel was involved in building the present church facility. In the late 1980's, Diocesan priest, Fr. John Hinsvark also ministered to the Hooper Bay Catholic community.