St. Ann History

Beginnings…
St. Ann’s was a mission of St. Michael’s Parish in Pensacola due to a response from Gulf Breeze summer vacationers and residents to be able to worship without driving “into town.”  Through the efforts of Msgr. William Cusick, pastor of St Michael’s and Bishop Thomas J. Toolen of the diocese of Mobile, the mission became a reality in 1949.  Mr. And Mrs. Carl T. Hoffman donated the property (at the corners of Hwy 98, Fairpoint and Hoffman drives) and the 25 ft wide x 60 ft long Chapel was completed and dedicated on Pentecost Sunday, June 5, 1949. Mass was celebrated every Sunday at 7:30 a.m. and the Chapel was closed after Labor Day each year. After reopening in the summer of 1950, St. Ann Chapel remained open year-round to serve a small but growing community in Gulf Breeze.  Somewhere between the initial request and the naming of the original chapel in honor of the Blessed Mother and patron saint of Mrs. Anne M. Hoffman, the ‘e’ was dropped from St Anne.  On October 3, 1958, Bishop Thomas J. Toolen appointed the Reverend James F. Gallagher as the first resident pastor of the new St. Ann Catholic Church. 
 
New location…
The Hoffman Foundation, the same donors of the original Chapel property, donated the land for the existing St. Ann Catholic Church at 100 Daniel Drive. Architect and parishioner Mr. Sam Marshall designed the new church and rectory that was built by contractor and parishioner Mr. B.J. Nickelsen. The cornerstone was laid in August of 1960 and Archbishop Thomas J. Toolen, dedicated the new St. Ann Catholic Church on March 12, 1961.  The church membership had grown to 175 families.

Additions…
In 1969 a small Parish Hall was built and the building and kitchen have since been expanded through the years to seat and serve approximately 200 for various events such as Wednesday night dinners, funeral receptions and local community gatherings.
By 1985 it had over 400 families so St Ann’s opened the Spiritual Center to house parish offices, Sunday school classes, a small chapel and a library.  The pre-school came about after a survey came back asking parishioners how they would like to see their facilities used and they answered “we have need for day care.”  This building, now called the Education building, is home to the St. Ann Discovery School which includes extended day care services, a preschool and infant care programs.
The Family Life Center (FLC) was opened in 1992 which houses classrooms, meeting space and a gymnasium to accommodate the growing parish.

New Church…
In 1992, a Land Use Committee was formed to survey and conduct polls to determine the current and future needs.  It became apparent that both the existing 1961 church were inadequate to meet the future needs.  Concepts were developed with surveys and letters sent and received that the choice to would be to build a new, but attached sanctuary and change the existing church to a smaller chapel and create meeting space.  This became reality with the dedication in April 2002.

God’s work… 
Priests, who have served as Pastor of St. Ann, include: Reverend James F. Gallagher, Reverend Thomas Culreavy, Reverend Thomas Sadler, Reverend Monsignor Terrell Solana, Reverend Monsignor Luke Hunt, and Reverend John Cayer. 
 
God’s work has spread in the parish of St. Ann and in the Gulf Breeze community. What was a small mission chapel in 1949 with only summer parishioners and tourists in attendance grew to a year-round church with approximately 175 resident families by 1960. Today, St. Ann has approximately 900 families, operates a year-round Discovery School, and maintains facilities including the Church, Chapel, Education Building, Parish Hall, and Family Life Center.