St. Faustina Catholic Church

Father Dave was appointed St. Faustina’s Parochial Administrator in August of 2012 by Bishop John Noonan. 

A native of the coal mining regions of central/northeastern Pennsylvania, Father Dave is ¾ Lithuanian and ¼ Slovak.  Born in the small town of Giradville, he is the second of four children.  Father Dave, who attended Catholic schools throughout his educational career, was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Allentown, in May of 1979.

His first assignment was an assistant pastor at St. Bernard’s in Easton, PA. The start of a 10-year career in Catholic high schools followed; two years as a teacher at Allentown Central; two years at Pius X in Bangor, PA; two years as vice-principal back at Allentown Central; and four and a half years as the principal of his Alma Mater, Cardinal Brennan High School.

Father Dave’s first pastoral assignment was a five-year period which started in October of 1990 at St. Mauritius in the town of Ashland, PA.  In March of 1993, while still serving the parishioners of St. Mauritius, Father Dave was also assigned pastoral duties at the neighboring parish, St. Joseph’s in Ashland  (located about three blocks away).  In January of 1995 he was sent to St. Joseph’s Parish in Reading, PA before being named the pastor of St. John Baptist de LaSalle Parish in Shillington, PA in 1996; his last parish before coming to Florida in 2005.

His first assignment in the Sunshine State was at Resurrection Parish in Lakeland as the assistant pastor before moving to St. Ann’s in Debary in July of 2007 as the parish’s parochial vicar (assistant).  While at St. Ann’s Father Dave also served as Chaplain at Fr. Lopez High School in Daytona, where he served from 2008 through 2011.

A proven fund-raiser throughout his career, St. Faustina has seen its Construction Fund balance grow from $500,000 to its current total of more than $1 million.  Father Dave was the key "mover and shaker" as we left the Zak center after three years (which seated only about 250 in the "main" church, to our current location in Glenbrook Commons, which seats 500 and has tons of parking.  Just as importantly, the parish has added several key social events that have strengthened St. Faustina’s community bond.

Father Dave and his constant companion, Max, have been together for almost 15 years.  Max is a favorite at the parish and especially enjoys inviting all of his animal friends to the parish’s annual celebration of St. Francis of Assisi.    

Donna Cuttita, Recptionist

Mike Ratovski, Maintenance/Sacristan