Tanana - Saint Aloysius Catholic Church
Tanana is situated at the junction of the Tanana and Yukon Rivers. A traditional Indian trading camp once existed nearby at Nuklukayet. The present day Athapaskan village of Tanana became a permanent settlement in 1869 after a trading post was established.
The first Catholic missionary to arrive at Tanana and in Northern Alaska in 1863 was the Oblate, Fr. Jean Seguin. Another Canadian Oblate Bishop Isidore Clut, and Fr. Auguste Lecorre visited Tanana in 1873. In 1878, Archbishop Charles Seghers and diocesan priest Fr. Charles Mandart spent six weeks in the village. Archbishop Seghers returned in 1886 followed by the Jesuit Frs. Aloysius Robaut and Aloysius Ragaru in 1887. The church at Tanana was dedicated to Saint Aloysius, the patron saint of Fr. Ragaru. For the following 16 years, Roman Catholic priests visited Tanana occasionally from Nulato.
In 1904, Fr. Ragaru built a small house with annex which became a chapel and residence. This event marked the opening of a permanent mission station at Tanana. Up until 1928, some pioneer Jesuits were resident priests, such as Fr. Hormisdas Ferron, who in 1914, enlarged the church building. Another such pioneer is Fr. Jules Jetté, S.J., who between 1914 and 1924, became a resident of Tanana while traveling to other mission locations along the Yukon River. Fr. Francis Monroe, S.J., visited Tanana irregularly from 1925 to 1930. During that time, he traveled between both stations of Nulato and Fairbanks. Up until 1966, when Fr. Charles Saalfeld, S.J., arrived, the Catholic community at Saint Aloysius parish was visited intermittently by Catholic clergymen from the villages of Nulato and Galena. Fr. Saalfeld had left an earlier teaching post at Monroe Catholic High School in Fairbanks to become resident Pastor at Tanana and to minister to the dependent stations of Huslia, Galena, Manley Hot Springs, Koyukuk and Ruby. He stayed at his Saint Aloysius post until 1973. In spite of his busy schedule, Fr. Saalfeld managed to build a three-sided log church in 1967 with attached living quarters and full basement.
Other clergy, too numerous to mention here, offered their priestly services to the Tanana Catholic community while maintaining their stations elsewhere either from Fairbanks or Nulato. Most of these were men of the Jesuit Order with a few exceptions. Fr. Al Levitre is one. He is a Diocesan priest, and former Jesuit Volunteer. Others, such as the Ursuline Sisters, Maria Clarys and Monique Vaernewyck were residents at Tanana for many years until 1996.