Saint Juvenaly of Alaska Icon - S338

Saint Juvenaly (or Juvenal) was born in Siberia. He worked as a mining engineer. When he was 30 years old, his wife died and he joined a monastery. He was later sent to Alaska as a missionary, where he worked among the natives for three years. He baptized many hundreds of people during this time.

In 1796, he was killed by a group of native hunters for unknown reasons. His killers later told Saint Innocent of Alaska that Saint Juvenaly had called them to repentance until he was utterly cut to pieces. For this death, he is called the Protomartyr (first martyr) of America. His feast is celebrated on September 24.