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Father Hubbard: Glacier Priest

Continues through November 30, 2001

(Sponsored by SCU 150th Anniversary)

Hubbard Exhibit Images

The Glacier Priest filming in front of Mendenhall Glacier near Juneau, Alaska, where he returned to offer his Jubilee Mass with the slogan "Twenty-five years on top of the World." Hubbard was first called The Glacier Priest by his guides in Austria,where he studied theology and mounted weekend expeditions to glaciers in the Tyrolean Alps. Photographer unknown, circa 1950. higher-resolution image

Bernard Hubbard, a Jesuit priest from Santa Clara University, led annual expeditions to Alaska from 1927 until shortly before his death in 1962 and became known to a national audience as "The Glacier Priest." Just before Hubbard turned 40, he was asked to lead a retreat for the Sisters of St. Anne in Juneau, Alaska. At that time, Alaska was a remote territory inhabited by fewer than 50,000 people and regarded as an arctic wasteland by most Americans. But to a scientist-explorer like Hubbard, Alaska became his calling. While in Juneau, Hubbard mounted a three-day expedition that nearly took the life of his guide. Alaskan newspapers and The San Francisco Examiner ran the headline: "Glacier Priest First to Cross Taku Glacier."

Hubbard's early expeditions focused on Alaska's fire and ice, the active volcanoes of the Alaskan Peninsula and the restless glaciers of southeast Alaska. Later, he explored the Aleutian Islands and visited the Jesuit missions of Nulato, Holy Cross, and Pilgrim Springs. Each expedition included scientific observations, wonder, hardship, danger, and service to the cross, with Hubbard either behind the camera or in front of it. The Glacier Priest followed each expedition with a lecture tour, which featured his photos, films, jokes, and stories. Hubbard once remarked: "I'm a good showman--God has given me the ability, and I'm using it for the work."

By 1940, Hubbard's short films played on siilver screens across America, and most Americans knew his voice, his face, and his work. Though popular with the general public, Hubbard's scientific work and high-profile ways were questioned by many experts and collegues.

This exhibition is guest curated by Jeff Kunkel and originated by the de Saisset Museum, in honor of Santa Clara University's 150th Anniversary.