Rev. David Zapalac, CSB, Pastor

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Father David Zapalac, born and raised in nearby Angleton, Texas, has been at St. Anne Catholic Community since July 2016. He met the Basilian Fathers through their ministry at his home parish, St. Basil Catholic Church, now named Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church.

Fr. David attended the University of St. Thomas receiving a B.A. in philosophy. He received a Master’s of Divinity from St. Michael’s University in Toronto and in 1993 was ordained at his home parish in Angleton. He spent his first year ministry there, serving as a parochial vicar. From 1994-99 he served the St. Anne Catholic Community. Over the years, he has been a pastor in three different parishes in the region, Holy Family Catholic Church in Missouri City, Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Manvel, and Most Holy Trinity in Angleton.

He was appointed pastor of St. Anne in 2020.

Rev. Paul F. English, CSB, Parochial Vicar

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Fr. English was born in Syracuse, New York to Robert J.D. English and Rosemary (Donovan) English (both deceased). He has 6 siblings, Robert, Thomas, Eileen, Patrick, John, and Maureen.

Fr. Paul received a Bachelor of Arts, Spanish in May, 1978, from St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY, which included a semester at the Universidad de Valencia, Spain. In November of 1987, he received a Master of Divinity from the University of St. Michael's College, Toronto School of Theology, at the University of Toronto, which Included 1 year of Theological studies at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico.

Upon completion of his Master of Divinity, Fr. Paul served as a Priest member of Campus Ministry at Nazareth College of Rochester, and then as Director of Campus Ministry at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY. From there, Fr. Paul came to St. Anne Catholic Community and served here as Parochial Vicar and Director of the Office of Hispanic Ministry from 2001-2008. Since then, Fr. Paul has served as a General Council Member, Director of Novices, and Director of Scholastics with the Congregation of St. Basil. He has served as the Pastor of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Rochester (Irondequoit), NY. Most recently, he has served as the University Chaplain at the University of St. Thomas.

Fr. Paul returned to St. Anne Catholic Community in July 2023.

Rev. David Bittner, CSB, Priest in Residence

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Before coming to St. Anne, Fr. Bittner was the Associate Pastor at Saint Alphonsus and Saint Clare Parishes in Edmonton, Alberta. As a Basilian, he has served in Merrillville, Indiana (his home town); Rochester, New York; Toronto, Ontario; Houston, Manvel, and Richmond, Texas; and Orillia, Ontario.

Fr. Bittner was born in Gary, Indiana and grew up in Merrillville, Indiana. He is the oldest of four siblings, with 2 younger sisters and a brother (the youngest). He attended Saints Peter and Paul grade school and Andrean High School in Merrillville, where he met the Basilian Fathers.

Fr. Bittner studied Math, French, and Secondary Education at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His theology studies for the M.Div. were at the University of St. Michael’s College and the Toronto School of Theology in Toronto. Later, he studied for an M.A. in Linguistics at the University of Toronto.

A favorite activity of Fr. Bittner has been Scuba Diving. He was certified as an Open Water Diver in Maui in 2005, and continued his dive education. He obtained Master Scuba Diver status in 2006. He has enjoyed many dive trips with his Maui friends over the years. Unfortunately, due to his various mobility issues, he has had to retire from diving and dive travel. In addition, Fr. Bittner enjoys Choral Music. He sang with choirs in Edmonton for a total of 24 years.

Rev. Steven Huber, CSB, Parochial Vicar

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Fr. Steven was born and raised in Albuquerque, NM, to Lynn and Larry Huber.  He has two younger brothers, Brian and Greg. Fr. Steven received his sacraments (Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation and Ordination) at Our Lady of the Annunciation Catholic Church in Albuquerque. He was an altar server, a communion minister and a lector at his parish. Fr. Steven attended Catholic school and graduated from St. Pius X High School in Albuquerque in 2004. He graduated from New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, NM, with a bachelor’s degree in Music Education in 2009. As a student at NMSU, Fr. Steven met the Basilian Fathers at the Newman Center on campus.

After college, Fr. Steven taught middle school choir. During this time, he discerned his calling to the priesthood and began formation with the Basilian Fathers in June 2011. He taught at Detroit Catholic Central High School for a year, then moved to Houston to complete his Novitiate in Sugar Land and Seminary Studies at St. Mary’s Seminary. Fr. Huber was ordained as a priest at his home parish, Our Lady of the Annunciation Parish in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on February 9, 2019. Since then, he has been in Windsor, Ontario. Fr. Huber served as a deacon at Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Parish in Windsor, Ontario before he was ordained, and then served as Associate Pastor. He also served part time at Assumption University’s Campus Ministry as Chaplain. Before arriving at St. Anne last week, Fr. Steven was serving as Administrator of Spiritual Affairs for Windsor Heritage Catholic Family of Parishes.

Fr. Steven enjoys singing. He sang in the Windsor Symphony Chorus and in the Windsor Classic Chorale. He looks forward to exploring his singing options here in Houston. As he grew up in the Southwest, Fr. Steven enjoys barbecue, Tex-Mex and Southwest food. While he thoroughly enjoyed his time in Windsor, he is glad to be back in Houston, Texas, where he spent 6 years in formation.

Deacon Thad Kudela

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Thad Kudela serves as permanent deacon having been ordained in 2019. He and his wife Marsha are long-time parishioners at St. Anne and have two grown children who attended school at St. Anne from pre-k through middle school. 

After many years of volunteer service to the St. Anne community he entered the diaconate program in 2013. He received his Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies in December of 2018 from The University of St. Thomas School of Theology at St. Mary’s Seminary.

He also holds a B.S. in Architecture from The Lawrence Institute of Technology in Southfield, Michigan. Deacon Thad is a Landscape Architect by profession and continues to practice alongside his duties as a deacon.

Beyond his service to the St. Anne Community, Deacon Thad works with Special Youth Services, an outreach program of the Archdiocese of Galveston Houston that ministers to youth in detention facilities throughout the Archdiocese. He is the Volunteer Coordinator at the Burnett Bayland Rehabilitation Center in Bellaire.

Deacon José Antonio Saucedo

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José Antonio Saucedo has served as a deacon for St. Anne since February 22, 2019. He entered the diaconate program at St. Mary's Seminary in Houston in 2012 and was ordained as a deacon by Most Reverend George A. Sheltz, Auxiliary Bishop of Galveston-Houston. Following ordination, he returned to St. Anne where he has been a member since moving to Houston in 2005. Currently, he is the Buildings and Grounds Coordinator for St. Anne Community.

José and his wife, Isabel, reside and work in Houston and they are both involved in a variety of ministries at St. Anne. They are the parents of a son, Tony. In his spare time, Deacon José  enjoys reading and spending time with the family.