Healy was formerly an Alaska Railroad station called Healy Forks and now is home to the Usibelli Coal Mine. It is conveniently located adjacent to Denali National Park and along the Parks Highway, the main road between Fairbanks and Anchorage.

Originally, the Catholics of Healy were served by visiting priests from Nenana and Fairbanks. Around 1980, the Diocese of Fairbanks Building Committee, headed by Bishop Robert Whelan, S.J., decided that a new church with pastor's headquarters and attached parish hall should be built at Healy. Fr. Paul Mueller, S.J., was put in charge of building and financing the project. He received generous donations from the Catholic Extension Society and from the Jesuit Mission Associates.