Priest Assignments

Office of the Bishop

22 March 2024

To: Diocese of Fairbanks
From: Bishop Steven J. Maekawa, O.P.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

With deep gratitude for their service, I want to acknowledge the following international priests who have fulfilled their contractual ministry here in the Diocese of Fairbanks and will be leaving in the next two months.

• Fr. Alphonsus Afina will return to the Diocese of Maiduguri, Nigeria in April 2024.
• Fr. Welcome Chipiro will return to the Diocese of Mutare, Zimbabwe in May 2024.

To provide for the faithful of our diocese, I am pleased to announce the following assignments.

• Fr. Yakubu Aiden as Pastor of St. Nicholas Parish in North Pole, effective 1 June 2024.
• Fr. Peter Bang as Parochial Administrator of St. Lawrence Parish, Mountain Village; St. Charles Spinola, Pilot Station; and St. Mary’s Parish, Saint Marys, effective 6 May 2024.
• Fr. Dominik Wojcik as Parochial Administrator of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, Delta Junction and Holy Rosary Parish in Tok, effective 1 May 2024.

Another letter will be forthcoming to address additional pastoral assignments within the Diocese of Fairbanks. I ask you to please keep Fr. Alphonsus and Fr. Welcome in your prayers, in gratitude for their service in northern Alaska and as they prepare to return home to their dioceses in Africa.

Sincerely in Christ,

Most Reverend Steven J. Maekawa, O.P.
Catholic Bishop of Northern Alaska
Diocese of Fairbanks

File: 20240325_PriestAssignments.pdf