Steven Maekawa

Steven John Maekawa, O.P. (born 22 November 1967) is an American prelate and Dominican friar of the Catholic Church who has served as bishop for the Diocese of Fairbanks in Alaska since 2023. At the time of his appointment, he was serving as a priest in the Archdiocese of Anchorage–Juneau, where he was the pastor of Holy Family Old Cathedral.

Biography Early life Steven Maekawa was born on November 22, 1967, in Seattle, Washington, to Don and Kiyo Maekawa. He has two sisters and one brother. He and his siblings are fourth generation Japanese Americans. While attending the University of Washington, he began discerning the priesthood.

After graduating, Maekawa entered the Dominican Order. Having completed the novitiate, he professed his first vows on September 14, 1991. In 1998, Maekawa received a Master of Divinity degree from the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in Berkeley, California. After his ordination, the Dominicans assigned Maekawa as an assistant pastor at St. Dominic Parish in San Francisco, California. In 2002, he was named director of the Newman Center at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. Maekawa returned to San Francisco in 2005 to become prior of St. Dominic Priory Novitiate in San Francisco. He would serve as prior from 2005 to 2007 and from 2012 to 2015

Bishop of Fairbanks Pope Francis appointed Maekawa as bishop of Fairbanks on July 11, 2023. He was consecrated on October 12, 2023, at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks by Archbishop Andrew Bellisario, with Bishops Chad Zielinski and Michael Barber serving as co-consecrators.

Within the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Maekawa is a member of the Subcommittee on Native American Affairs.