Joseph Bernard was born in France in 1875 and while a student at Jersey, England was recruited as a missionary to the Nome mission by Father De La Motte. At that time Alaska was a part of the Rocky Mountain Mission. In 1903 he sailed for the United States and worked at the St Ignatius Mission near Missoula, Montana before being ordained a priest in 1906 at Gonzaga University.

Father Bernard arrived in Nome on August 2, 1906 and after a brief training period was assigned to Mary's Igloo. From there he traveled by dog team to gold camps and Eskimo camps on the Seward Peninsula, including Nome and Teller.

In 1909 he left Alaska for further studies at Canterbury, England; while there he held lectures about the Alaska Missions, using 120 glass-slides to illustrate the talks. He was very happy to return to Alaska and Mary's Igloo in 1911 where he was greeted enthusiastically by the Eskimos and his lead dog, Spot.

Reluctantly he left for France when called to military duty during World War I. He served as an interpreter and orderly officer for 3 1/2 years, always hoping to return to Alaska and his mission at Mary's Igloo.

After his discharge from the armed forces, he petitioned the Society of Jesus superiors for permission to return to Alaska; he was refused. He was assigned to work as a retreat master in France and Switzerland, a position he held for 32 years.

A more detailed account of his life and work is in the 1976 summer issue of the Alaska Journal.