Our parish is a place for everyone to gather at the table of the Lord. As part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fairbanks, we are located along the Richardson Highway about 15 miles southeast of Fairbanks, between Fort Wainwright and Eielson Air Force Base. If you are new to the area, we encourage you to register with us by filling out a parish registration form after Mass or online.
North Pole, incorporated as a city in 1953, is located 12 miles southeast of Fairbanks along the Richardson Highway. In 1967, it had 615 inhabitants. According to 2007 estimates there are currently 2,183 residents within the city limits.
On September, 28, 1975, the Most Rev. Robert J. Whelan, SJ, celebrated the Mass in the North Pole Grange Hall. Concelebrants included Rev. Richard L. McCaffrey, SJ, and Rev. Louis F. McKernan, CSP. Future Paulist priest James M. Kolb assisted. At that Mass, Bishop Whelan formally established the parish of St. Nicholas at North Pole, Alaska and installed Fr. McKernan as its first pastor.
During the early 1960's, the Catholic Church bought land in North Pole. The property originally purchased in North Pole was sold several years later. The property on which St. Nicholas parish is now located was donated by Mr. Ken Ulz of Fairbanks in the early 1970's. It was on this location that a modular-double wide mobile home unit, 24' x 60', with a large basement was erected in the summer of 1975 as a temporary church. It also served as the home for the first pastoral team of St. Nicholas, Fr. McKernan and seminarian James Kolb.
On May 7, 1978, ground-breaking ceremonies took place on the site where the new St. Nicholas Church was to rise. At that time, weekend Masses were being offered in the basement of the parish house. Much of the construction work on the church was done by parishioners. The solemn dedication of St. Nicholas Church took place on December 3, 1978.
In 1995 a new rectory was built on the parish grounds. The "old white building" was then converted for use as the religious education building. In the early 2000's the atrium was added to the parish church with the intent to eventually expand the building. In the Spring of 2011 the old white building was demolished and construction began on a 10,000 sq ft edition to the church. Completed in January of 2012, the new addition serves as the parish pastoral center housing the parish offices, classrooms, and youth room.
St. Nicholas parish currently serves approximately 400 families or about 1,100 individuals. There are approximately 500 children under the age of 18 in the parish, making us a young, vibrant congregation.
The following priests, listed in order of service from 1975 to date, have served at Saint Nicholas: Louis McKernan, James Kolb, Charles Kullmann, Vincent G. Wissman, Thomas W. Jones, Theodore A. Vierra, Dennis W. Hickey, Michael J. Martin, Jack de Verteuil, James Fisher, Al Levitre, William Cardy, Ross Tozzi, Robert Fath, Stan Jaszek, Jonathan Dellinger, Fr. Dominik Wojcik (as Parochial Vicar), Fr. Welcome Chipiro, and currently, Fr. Yakubu Aiden.
Rev. Mr. Walter H. Gelinas served Saint Nicholas Parish since the days of the Grange Hall when he was a founding member of the parish council. He was ordained a permanent deacon on November 1, 1988, by the Most Rev. Michael J. Kinecki. Deacon Walt passed in September 2021.
Rev. Mr. Ronald Jones was ordained a permanent deacon on December 8, 2015, by the Most Rev. Chad Zielinski and served St. Nicholas parish until March of 2024 before relocating.
Our mission is to learn, to love, to build, to pray, to serve.