By David Karas | Correspondent

He has walked on a glacier and encountered a bear.

He has also heard confessions, celebrated Masses and baptized a baby girl – all on what many describe as America’s “last frontier.”

Father David Swantek, chaplain of the Aquinas Institute in Princeton University, has found a unique way to spend his summers.

Rather than emulating the relaxation that some of his students might indulge in over the summer months, Father Swantek spends part of his break in Skagway, Alaska, providing much-needed relief to the overburdened and outnumbered population of Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Juneau.

Father Swantek has made the journey to Alaska three times in the course of the five years he has been a priest, and hopes to continue to use part of his vacation to serve the faithful there.

“I have always had a love for Alaska,” said the young priest, who recalled a time when he was considering the priesthood, and found himself holding a brochure for the Diocese of Trenton in one hand, and the Diocese of Fairbanks in the other. “I have always had that bug inside of me.”

Father Swantek first brought the idea to then-Bishop John M. Smith. He was not only supportive of the idea, but he knew the bishop of the Diocese of Juneau, and made the initial connection for Father Swantek.

The bishop helped find a parish that could use an extra set of hands – St. Therese of the Child Jesus, in Skagway, Alaska – boasting a congregation of 20 locals that is supplemented on a periodic basis by cruise ship passengers who stop in to the town. Skagway is a tourist town, and occasionally Catholics will attend Masses in the parish during stops to the area.

The first time Father Swantek made it to Skagway, he gave the parish priest his first vacation in some time.

“I gave him three weeks off,” he said, noting that the diocese is small in terms of personnel, but large in terms of the area it covers – with roughly nine priests covering a territory the size of Florida. Therefore, the priests get little rest, he said.

“These poor priests, they never get a day off,” he said. “They are always on this rotation of territory.”

“They are like circuit priests in early America,” Father Swantek continued. “They fly planes between islands, or they take boats, and back in the day they would take dog teams out.”

During his stays in St. Therese Parish, Father Swantek celebrates regular Masses and interacts with the community, but he also winds up hearing the confessions of many priests – both those based in Alaska and others on vacation passing through the town. Since priests there tend to work individually and travel a good deal, it could be a long time before they see another priest who could hear their confessions.

“It is a different kind of ministry than we have down here,” said Father Swantek. “If a priest can get into Skagway in the winter, or if there is no fog, then he comes and they have Mass.”

If not, catechists hold communion services for the faithful. He said that he often consecrates a number of hosts before leaving, to ensure the Body of Christ is present if Mass cannot be celebrated.

Last year, he had the privilege of baptizing a baby girl, and said that he was proud to be able to share in the experience with the community – and to be officially entered into the parish records.

Father Swantek said that he appreciates the smaller, more intimate nature of the parish community in Alaska, and the connections that can be made at that level that are more difficult to do in larger parishes.

“From a ministry perspective, it is really special to be involved in the lives of these folks,” he said. “I know them, I know their families (and) I pray for them, and it is kind of cool that they get to know me.”

Of course, that means that some days yield vastly smaller congregations for Masses than others.

“Sometimes, me, the angels and saints are the only ones at Mass,” he said.

Father Swantek says that the time he spends in Alaska is a restful opportunity for spiritual refreshment and reflection.

“It is a retreat time,” he said. “It is a time for me to get closer to Christ.”

The experience has also exposed Father Swantek to an idea he has implemented back home. Each Monday, the Bishop and priests of the Diocese of Juneau have a conference call to catch up and share news and developments – a way of making the vast distances that separate them disappear, if only for an hour.

Father Swantek has adapted that model to the cohort of priests in the Diocese of Trenton who have been ordained for 10 years or less. And each month, they meet to share news and talk about the priesthood – with those who cannot physically attend joining via Skype.

Father Swantek said that he enjoys the different nature of ministry in Alaska, and even the change in scenery – with a very small church and a rectory that is essentially the size of a dorm room. He added that the much-anticipated advent of Internet service and wireless phone reception has made it easier for him to get work done for his ministry in Princeton, even while in Alaska.

The experience, he says, is unforgettable.

“You get the sense of being a frontier priest when you are up there,” he says. “If there are people on the frontier, you are going to be there for them.”