Vatican City, May 19, 2020 / 06:45 am
Pope Francis merged two dioceses in Alaska Tuesday, creating the new Archdiocese of Anchorage-Juneau which will cover a territory larger than Montana.
The pope appointed Bishop Andrew E. Bellisario as the metropolitan archbishop of the newly formed archdiocese in southern Alaska.
The diocese of Juneau, located on the Alaska's southeastern panhandle, is spread across 500 miles of islands, peninsulas, fjords, and glaciers, whereas Anchorage is a city home to 42% of the population of Alaska.
Merged together, the Archdiocese of Anchorage-Juneau will cover more than 175,000 square miles and a population of 560,000 people. The Vatican reports that the new diocese will have 55,000 Catholics, 34 diocesan priests, and 32 parishes, some of which are only accessible via airplane or boat due to Alaska's limited road systems.