Innocent d'Alaska
1797-1879 19th century Feast day: March 31
Patient proclamation that draws near to a language and a people.
Who was Innocent d'Alaska?
A Siberian priest sent to the Aleutian Islands, he learned the languages of Alaska's peoples, composed a grammar and catechism for them, and translated the Gospel. Widowed, he became a monk and then bishop, crossing an immense territory by kayak and sled. Later metropolitan of Moscow, he remained the apostle of the peoples of the far North.
In their own words
People were not created merely to live here on earth like animals that disappear after their death, but to live with God and in God, not for a hundred or a thousand years, but eternally.
Without the help of the Holy Spirit, it is impossible to take a single step toward the Kingdom.