St. Ann Catholic Church of Gulf Breeze, Florida originated as a mission church of St. Michael Catholic Church of Pensacola, Florida.  Reverend Monsignor William J. Cusick, pastor of St. Michael from 1939-1971, directed the building of St. Ann Chapel for summer residents and tourists.

Mr. And Mrs. Carl T. Hoffman donated the property and the 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.  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.

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, Bishop of Mobile-Birmingham Diocese, dedicated the new St. Ann Catholic Church on March 12, 1961.

Priests who have served as Pastor of St. Ann included: Father James F. Gallagher, Father John F. Colreavy, Father Thomas Sadler, Monsignor Terrell F. Solana, and Monsignor Luke Hunt.

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 900 families, operates a year round Discovery School, and maintains facilities including the Church, Chapel, Education Building, Parish Hall, and Family Life Center.