Delta Junction - Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church
Catholic Church history in Delta Junction is linked to the history of other communities connected by the Richardson and Alcan Highways. Delta, Tok, Northway and formerly Glennallen are such communities that either border the Alaska Range or cross these formidable mountains at Isabelle Pass. Delta Junction is directly at these cro
ssroads. When the Alcan Highway connecting Alaska to the contiguous States was completed in the early 1940's, Ms. Marie Bronson, State of Alaska Public Health Nurse and a devout Catholic was assigned to cover the myriad health needs of the communities of that entire region and observed that the district was sorely in need of a Catholic priest. She appealed to Bishop Francis Gleeson, S.J., Bishop of what is now the Diocese of Fairbanks, for a Roman Catholic priest to work along the road system. As the result of Ms. Bronson's efforts, the Bishop assigned the energetic and charismatic young Jesuit, Fr. John Buchanan, to begin the task of building "Church" from Delta to Tok and southeast to Northway, and points as far as Glennallen located south of the Alaska Range.
Fr. Buchanan became a successful founder of church communities along the highways. Some called him the "Pack Rat Priest." The name stuck with him as Buchanan had a knack for recruiting volunteers for his projects and collecting money and materials for new log churches or residences from benefactors both inside and outside of the State of Alaska. One of his major achievements was founding a college prep boarding school in Glennallen which was at the time located in what is now the Diocese of Fairbanks. Copper Valley School (1956 to 1972) had a major and lasting impact on Alaska Native education. Tok and Delta Junction parishes are two such legacies left to the Church of the Interior by Fr. Buchanan.
Many Jesuits followed in Fr. Buchanan's footsteps serving Delta and beyond. None became resident priests after Fr. Buchanan, however, until the latter part of the twentieth century. One such priest was Fr. Lawrence Nevue who served the Highway community from 1972 until 1982. Another was Fr. Joseph Laudwein who worked seven years (1987-1994) at Our Lady of Sorrows parish. He was instrumental in overseeing the building of a beautiful new church in 1989, "with the skillful and generous cooperation of parish members," in Fr. Laudwein's own words.