About Our Lady of Perpetual Help · Soldotna, Alaska
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic parish serving Soldotna and the central Kenai Peninsula in Alaska, within the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Anchorage–Juneau. The parish offers a daily Mass schedule rare for its size — Sunday morning, Saturday vigil, and noon weekday Masses most days — along with 24 hours of Eucharistic Adoration every Thursday through Friday noon. Since 2019, the parish has been shepherded by Father Patrick Brosamer, who serves as pastor for both Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Soldotna and Our Lady of the Angels in Kenai. The parish hosts a St. Vincent de Paul conference (907-262-4761) for outreach to those in need on the peninsula.
- Established
- 1962
- Patron
- Our Lady of Perpetual Help
- Rector
- Father Patrick Brosamer
- Diocese
- Metropolitan Archdiocese of Anchorage–Juneau
Why belong here
Our Lady of Perpetual Help offers a daily Mass schedule that is unusual for a parish of its size, with noon Masses Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, a Wednesday evening Mass at 5:30 PM, a Saturday vigil, and Sunday morning Mass — making weekday worship accessible for working families and visitors. A full 24 hours of Eucharistic Adoration runs every Thursday after the noon Mass through Friday noon, and confessions are heard twice weekly. The parish hosts a long-running St. Vincent de Paul conference serving the poor across the central Kenai Peninsula and joins annually with neighboring Our Lady of the Angels in Kenai for a friendly canned-food drive competition for the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank.
Mass times at Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Thursday 12:45 PM – 1:15 PM
- Saturday 3:15 PM – 3:45 PM
Adoration times
- Thursday 12:30 PM through Friday 12:00 PM (24 hours of Adoration beginning after the noon Mass)
About Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church is the Roman Catholic parish serving Soldotna and the surrounding central Kenai Peninsula community in south-central Alaska. It belongs to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Anchorage–Juneau and is one of three Catholic parishes that have historically ministered to the Soldotna–Kenai–Homer corridor. The parish is known for its generous daily Mass schedule and its 24-hour block of Eucharistic Adoration every Thursday into Friday.
- Located at 129 N Fireweed Street, Soldotna, AK 99669
- Mailing address: 222 W Redoubt Ave, Soldotna, AK 99669
- Part of the Archdiocese of Anchorage–Juneau
- Pastored since 2019 by Father Patrick Brosamer
History of the Parish
Catholic worship on the central Kenai Peninsula began in 1951 in the home of Frank and Marge Mullen, who arranged for itinerant Jesuit Father Arnold Custer to visit from Seward each spring. Early Masses rotated through makeshift venues — a café, a bar, the Territorial School, Carpenters Hall, and even the Quonset hut at Wildwood Army Station. In 1956 an Oregon-based Redemptorist order accepted the peninsula as a mission and sent four priests. By the early 1960s the Soldotna congregation was large enough to build its own church on land donated by homesteader Marvin Smith. Construction was largely complete by the end of 1962.
- 1951 – First Catholic services on the central peninsula held in the Mullen home
- 1956 – Kenai Peninsula accepted as a Redemptorist mission parish; four priests assigned
- 1962 – Our Lady of Perpetual Help church built on land donated by Marvin Smith
- 1962 – Founding pastor Father James Van Hommisen directs Irish stonemasons to hand-gather rounded fieldstone walls
- 1962 – First midnight Mass held Christmas Eve
- c. 2007 – Oblates of Mary Immaculate begin serving the peninsula parishes
- July 2019 – Oblates withdraw; diocesan priests reassigned
The Founding Stonework
Under founding pastor Father James Van Hommisen, about half a dozen recently transplanted Irish stonemasons drove a truck out Snug Harbor Road in Cooper Landing and climbed into the mountains to hand-select rounded stones for the church's distinctive front and back walls. According to Marge Mullen's memoir, their stonework was greatly appreciated — but their antics at the first midnight Mass on Christmas Eve 1962 (extinguishing cigarettes in the holy water font, sitting backwards on the kneelers, and wolf-whistling at the young organist) were less celebrated.
Parish Ministries and Outreach
The parish runs several active ministries. Father Patrick Brosamer has personally taken on Adult Faith Formation and a Men's Ministry, and he has worked with Father Michael Ko in Kenai to share resources between the two parishes. Each September the parish competes in a friendly canned-food drive competition against Our Lady of the Angels in Kenai, with each parish typically collecting over 1,000 pounds for the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank.
- St. Vincent de Paul Society (907-262-4761) — serves the needy on the central Kenai Peninsula
- Adult Faith Formation (led by Father Patrick)
- Men's Ministry
- Annual Kenai Peninsula Food Bank canned-food drive (in friendly competition with Our Lady of the Angels, Kenai)
- Family Fun Day booth at Soldotna Creek Park
St. Vincent de Paul Conference
The parish hosts a St. Vincent de Paul Society conference that serves those in need on the central Kenai Peninsula — what Father Brosamer has called 'the invisible poor' who often live out of public view in tents or campers in the woods. The conference can be reached directly at 907-262-4761.
Contact
- Parish office: 907-262-5542
- Father Patrick Brosamer: 907-203-7844
- Father James: 510-205-9103
- St. Vincent de Paul: 907-262-4761
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: soldotnacatholicchurch.org
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father James Van Hommisen1962–
Founding pastor; directed the construction of the church, including selection and laying of the distinctive rounded fieldstone walls by Irish stonemasons.
- Oblates of Mary Immaculatec. 2007 – July 2019
Religious order served the Kenai Peninsula parishes (Soldotna, Kenai, Homer) for approximately twelve years, living in community in Soldotna.
- Father Patrick Brosamer2019 – present
Diocesan priest appointed pastor effective July 1, 2019, after the Oblates withdrew. Previously parochial administrator at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Anchorage. Also serves as pastor of Our Lady of the Angels, Kenai.