Tununak - Saint Joseph Catholic Church
Tununak is a Central Yup'ik Eskimo village on the west coast of Nelson Island. It lies in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta on the Bering Sea coast.
Catholic missionary work on Nelson Island and Tununak began before the turn of the twentieth century. The parish was dedicated in 1889 to Saint Alphonsus by early pioneer Jesuit, Fr. Paul Muset, and is often referred to as the "coast mission."
Archives at The Alaskan Shepherd office offer an interesting historical perspective on the founding of the Tununak mission. In 1889, the Russian trader, Aluska, came from Saint Michael in a skin boat with two Jesuit passengers who were Fr. Joseph Treca and Brother Bernard Cunningham. After the trader left the two men on shore, the missionaries began construction of a large building which was divided in half: one side as a school-church, and the other as living quarters. After the building project was completed, Fr. Paul Muset, S.J., joined Treca and Cunningham.
In 1891, Fr. Francis Barnum, S.J., joined the small missionary group. After three years of missionary effort, the Tununak mission was abandoned because the missionaries found it too difficult to travel to and from the Island. In 1896 and 1897 another attempt was made to establish a permanent mission by Fr. Aloysius Parodi, S.J. Fr. Parodi's efforts proved fruitful and he remained at Saint Joseph mission for three years. Fr. Martin Lonneux, S.J., replaced Fr. Parodi. Fr. Lonneux built a separate cabin and church while tenured at Tununak.
Missionary efforts on Nelson Island proved to have been worthwhile when Native catechists began to participate in parish work--especially when the Jesuits traveled between villages. One of these early catechists, forerunners of the future Deacons of Alaska's west coast, was Simeon Sipary who served long and well between 1928 and 1930, and, 1936-1937. It was also to Mr. Sipary's credit that a new church was built in 1937. Other early catechists of Tununak included George Aluska (1931-1932), and Ivan and Maggie Sipary as well as Stephanie and John Naiyaganik. Fr. John Fox, S.J., who was pastor at Saint Joseph's during the 1940's, acknowledged the works of these men and women when he said: "the good example of such catechists is more eloquent than all my talking."
Between 1957 and 1959, Fr. Paul Deschout, S.J., replaced the earlier Saint Joseph church built by Mr. Sipary--and in 1982, Fr. Richard Case, S.J., built an addition to the church.
There were not only Jesuits and catechists who served the Tununak Catholic community during its long history, but also Jesuit volunteers. One of these was Marie Toscano, a Rhode Island native, who successfully operated a Montessori School for many years during the 1970's, while Fr. Francis Fallert, S.J., served as pastor.
Jesuits who have recently served St. Joseph Church in Tununak are Frs. Frank Fallert (1987-1990), Fr. Tom Provinsal (1991), Fr. Eugene Delmore (1992-1994), Henry Hargreaves (1994-1998), and David Anderson (1998-present).