Paulist Father Bruce Nieli, former director for Evangelization of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, was the guest preacher for the annual Novena to Saint Anne celebrated July 20-28 at St. Anne Church and Shrine in Santa Monica.A renowned leader of parish missions, retreats and regional conferences in both English and Spanish, Father Nieli addressed the spirituality of St. Paul the Apostle focusing on the connection between the Catholic faith and American culture. On July 27, St. Anne’s celebrated Father Nieli’s 40th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood during a bilingual Mass. The novena concluded July 28 with another bilingual Mass, with Archbishop José Gomez presiding and Auxiliary Bishop Edward Clark, Our Lady of the Angels regional bishop, and Father Anthony Gonzalez, pastor, among the concelebrating priests at the standing-room-only celebration.{gallery width=100 height=100}gallery/2013/0809/stanne/{/gallery}