When the Novus Ordo Missae was introduced to the Anchorage area in the early 1970's, traditionally-minded Roman Catholics began attending the Byzantine Catholic church of St. Nicholas of Myra, where Msgr. Artim, who was noted for his conservative nature, was the pastor. Around 1985 however, Msgr. Artim suffered a heart attack and a liberally-minded priest was assigned to St. Nicholas, who began to implement various liturgical changes (e.g., the Filioque was dropped as the new priest was adamant that it should not be used), while sermons were liberal in nature and critical of Catholic Tradition and even Archbishop Lefebvre.

Meanwhile, the Bradley family that had attended the SSPX's Queen of Angels Church in Houston, TX had moved to the Anchorage area. In February 1986, Fr. Daniel Couture contacted them and asked if they would like to have Mass in Anchorage, as he was already going to Juno for that purpose.  The answer was of course yes, and the first SSPX's Mass for Anchorage was in a classroom at Fair Valley School whose use was obtained for free. About 20 people were present for the first Mass which was offered by Fr. Ranger.  On that fateful night, Mr. Bradley (RIP) showed Fr. Ranger his St. Joseph's Bookstore, which was actually a former house.  It had a spare room, and from then on, Mass was offered here.  A few months later in the Fall, Mr. Bradley expanded the building to better suit its use as a chapel.

After Fr. Ranger, a succession of priests would take over the once-a-month Alaska circuit, which once also included Juno and Fairbanks, though these missions are now closed. Now serviced from the SSPX's priory in Veneta (Eugene), OR, the Anchorage mission regularly has 150 faithful attending the monthly Sunday Mass.