About St. Francis · Tenakee Springs, Alaska
St. Francis Chapel is a small Catholic mission church in Tenakee Springs, a remote fishing village of about 100 people on Chichagof Island in Southeast Alaska. The chapel sits on pilings along the waterfront in a town that has no roads, no cars, and no cell phone service, accessible only by boat or float plane. It is a mission of the Co-Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Juneau, served by visiting priests who travel by small plane or boat. Mass is celebrated whenever a priest can make the journey — the sound of the float plane arriving is, in effect, the church bell.
- Established
- 1975
- Patron
- St. Francis of Assisi
- Rector
- Fr. Steven Gallagher
- Diocese
- Metropolitan Archdiocese of Anchorage–Juneau (formerly Diocese of Juneau)
Why belong here
St. Francis Chapel is one of the most distinctive Catholic communities in the United States — a tiny waterfront chapel where Mass happens whenever a priest can fly or boat in, and the arrival of the float plane is the call to worship. For Catholics (and visitors) in Tenakee Springs, the chapel offers the Eucharist, confirmation, and the sacraments on a remote-island schedule, sustained by a small, hands-on community that has literally built its own altar and restored its own crucifix. It is a mission of the Co-Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Juneau and welcomes anyone who makes the journey to Chichagof Island.
Mass times at St. Francis
Weekly Mass schedule
History of St. Francis Chapel
Before 1975, the small Catholic community of Tenakee Springs worshipped without a dedicated chapel. In that year Catholic Extension Society funded the remodeling of an old waterfront house — perched on pilings above the inlet — into St. Francis Chapel. The chapel has been served continuously ever since by visiting priests and deacons of the Diocese of Juneau (now the Archdiocese of Anchorage–Juneau), who travel by float plane and boat on multi-mission circuits through Southeast Alaska.
- 1975: Catholic Extension funds conversion of an old waterfront house on pilings into St. Francis Chapel.
- 2005–2006: Parishioners complete renovations themselves — one builds the rustic wooden altar, another repairs the old crucifix.
- May 19, 2020: Diocese of Juneau merged with the Archdiocese of Anchorage to form the Archdiocese of Anchorage–Juneau; St. Francis Chapel's affiliation transferred to the Co-Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Juneau.
Architecture and Setting
The chapel is a small, vernacular worship space created by converting an existing waterfront house. It sits on pilings over the Tenakee waterfront, characteristic of Tenakee Springs' traditional building style. The interior was reworked by the parishioners in 2005–2006, with a hand-built altar and a repaired crucifix as the focal pieces. The character is simple, intimate, and very much a product of the fishing-and-hands-on community that surrounds it.
- Original structure: remodeled older house on pilings (1975)
- Hand-built rustic wooden altar (2005–2006, by a parishioner)
- Repaired historic crucifix (2005–2006)
- Small, intimate scale suited to a community of about 100 full-time residents
The Community of Tenakee Springs
Tenakee Springs sits on the north shore of Tenakee Inlet on Chichagof Island in Southeast Alaska. The village has about 100 full-time residents (growing by roughly 50% in summer), no road connection to the outside, no cars (with a town ordinance against them, except for the fire truck and the fuel-oil delivery), and no cell phone service. Residents rely on subsistence hunting, fishing and gathering, supplemented by commercial fishing and crabbing. The famous sulfur hot mineral spring — enclosed in a log bath house in 1900 — has been used by the Tlingit for generations and remains a community focal point.
- Population: ~100 year-round, swelling in summer with seasonal residents and tourists
- Transport: Alaska Marine Highway ferry (M/V Le Conte began regular service 1978) and float plane only
- Notable: 106°F sulfur hot mineral springs bath house
- Historic structures include Snyder Mercantile, the Shamrock Building, and St. Francis Chapel
- Tenakee Historical Collection preserves the village's archival records
Ministry and Catholic Identity
St. Francis Chapel is a mission — not a parish — and has no resident priest. It is listed by the Diocese of Juneau (now Archdiocese of Anchorage–Juneau) among its parishes and missions, and is formally a mission of the Co-Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Juneau. Catholic Extension Society has provided sustained support through priest salaries and travel assistance, and the parishioners themselves carry the work of maintenance, building, and craft — a community of "hands-on Catholics ready to celebrate the Eucharist any time a priest comes."
- Mission of the Co-Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Juneau
- Supported by Catholic Extension Society (salary and travel assistance)
- Parishioners handle building, renovation, and ongoing care of the chapel
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Visiting priests and deacons of the Diocese of Juneau / Archdiocese of Anchorage–Juneau1975–present
St. Francis Chapel has never had a resident pastor. Since its founding in 1975 it has been served by priests traveling circuits through the remote Southeast Alaska missions by boat, float plane, and snow machine. Bishop Edward Burns (Diocese of Juneau, 2009–2020; co-administrator thereafter) made multiple pastoral visits by float plane. Fr. Steven Gallagher was assigned responsibility for St. Francis Chapel (along with St. Ann Yakutat and the missions of Sacred Heart Hoonah, Holy Family Gustavus, Pelican and Kake) in a diocesan assignment announcement; Catholic Extension has provided ongoing salary and travel support.