The Holy West and the Land of Perpetual Snow
Jesuit Missionaries in the Rocky Mountains and Alaska (1840-1912)
Abstract
The paper examines the origins and development of Jesuit missionary efforts in the Rocky Mountains’ territories (1841) and in Alaska (1886) highlighting the coordinating role of the Turin Province and some aspects of the contribution of female congregations. Situated within the nineteenth-century Jesuit missionary revival, it explores institutional frameworks, native language study as a tool for evangelisation and instruction. Moreover, it shows how the Rocky Mountains experience served as a precedent for Jesuit missions in Alaska, illustrating the circulation of missionary models despite geographic and cultural differences.
Presentato: 29 Gennaio 2026 | Accettato: 07 Aprile 2026 | Pubblicato 30 Aprile 2026 | Lingua: en
Keywords Evangelisation • Acculturation • Rocky Mountains • Adaptation • Alaska
Copyright © 2026 Francesca Menelao. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/JoMaCC/2785-6046/2026/01/003