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Father Bill Anton, Rector

Email: wjanton@ctkcathedral.org

Father Bill Anton grew up in Fairfax, Virginia, a suburb of Washington DC, with his mother Josephine, his father Leonard, and his sister Susan. His father was a Navy F-4 pilot for many years before he left the service for a civilian job in Washington. His mother was a homemaker and an Avon Lady. Fr. Bill’s Dad still lives in that same house in Fairfax, whereas his mother passed away in 1985 from cancer. His sister Susan still lives in Fairfax and is raising two sons and one daughter.

Father Bill attended Catholic schools for nine of his twelve years, then went to study engineering and computers at nearby George Mason University, where he graduated in 1987 with a BS in Computer Science. His first job after college was with Boeing Computer Services contracting for the NASA space station project. It was that job that brought him to Houston, Texas in 1991 where he began working at the Johnson Space Center, and attending Mass at St. Bernadette Parish in Clear Lake City. Fr. Bill began to involve himself more and more in the life of the parish, joining the choir and a Sunday night prayer group. Then in May of 1993, he went to a “Christ Renews His Parish” retreat at St. Bernadette; it was an experience that would change him forever. He began to think seriously about entering the seminary, but the Lord asked him to wait a little while longer.

Through his Sunday night prayer group, Fr. Bill met some people from Lubbock, who invited all in the group to visit Lubbock for a special celebration on August 15, 1993 for the Feast of Mary’s Assumption. Fr. Bill made his first visit (a pilgrimage, really) to Lubbock on that weekend. He made several more trips to Lubbock, and then in February 1994 he made a retreat at the Mercy Retreat Center in Slaton. It was there at that retreat that he felt God was calling him to quit his career and move to the Lubbock area. He moved to Shallowater in June 1994 where he began working as an unpaid lay minister, helping to put on charismatic retreats. It was there in Shallowater where God’s call finally became clear.

In January 1995, Fr. Bill approached the vocation director (Fr. Martin Piña) and by August of that same year he began his philosophical studies at Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving, Texas. In 1997, he began his theological studies at St. Mary’s Seminary in Houston. In 2000 Fr. Bill began his year of pastoral internship at St. Michael’s in Levelland. He was ordained to the diaconate on December 15, 2001, and to the priesthood for the Diocese of Lubbock on May 25, 2002. For his first two years of ministry Fr. Bill served at St. John Neumann in Lubbock, first as parochial vicar, then as parish administrator for five months. He also took care of St. Theresa’s mission in Carlisle (West Lubbock). On July 1, 2004 Fr. Bill was made pastor of St. Ann’s in Morton and St. Philip Neri in Pep, where he served through June of 2008. On July 1, 2008 Bishop Rodriguez sent Fr. Bill to Rome, Italy to study canon law at the Pontifical Gregorian University. There he earned the degree of Juris Canonici Licentiatus (JCL). Effective July 1, 2011, Fr. Bill was assigned as the new Rector at Christ the King Cathedral, where he has been appointed for a term of six years.