The pastor of our parish family—consisting of St. Anne, Our Lady of Fatima, and Sacred Heart of Jesus—is Father Freitag (pronounced Free-tag). His ancestors emigrated from Bavaria in the mid-1800s and Americanized the name. Born and raised in Seattle, he attended Our Lady of Fatima grade school, Queen Anne High School, and Gonzaga University. After college, he worked as an auditor and earned a Masters in International Business.

Following prayerful discernment, he entered the pre-theology program at the Seminary of Christ the King and later attended Mundelein Seminary. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 8, 1996, at St. James Cathedral.

His first assignments were as a parochial vicar at St. Mary Magdalene, Everett, and Sacred Heart and Assumption, Bellingham. In 1999, he became pastor of Our Lady Star of the Sea, Bremerton, and later served at St. Monica, Mercer Island. Post-pandemic, he was appointed regional pastor for Grays Harbor County and mentored priests while assisting at St. Jude, Redmond, and Holy Innocents, Duvall.

His Golden Retriever, Maggie, often accompanies him.

Born and raised in Machakos County, rural Kenya, East Africa, Father Kitema is the fourth of eleven children. His journey to the priesthood began in 2001 at St. Mary’s Seminary in Nakuru, Kenya. After completing studies in both Philosophy and Theology, he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Malindi on July 4, 2009.

Father’s ministry assignments have included serving in the Diocese of Malindi as Associate Pastor at St. Joseph’s Parish and later at St. Anthony Cathedral, where he also worked as the Diocese Finance Administrator. He has also served as Caritas Director and as Director of the Pope Francis Rescue Home, a ministry dedicated to supporting sexually abused minors.

In 2022, Fr. Kitema came to the United States to pursue graduate studies at Saint Louis University in Missouri, where he earned a Master’s in Leadership and Organizational Development in July 2024. Since January of this year, Father has been helping in Grays Harbor and Tacoma. In his free time, he enjoys music, walking, and meeting new friends.

Mark is responsible for administrative and operational functions for Sacred Heart of Jesus and St. Anne, including facilities management and IT. He ensures efficient day-today operations.

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After retiring from Boeing, Lisa joined Sacred Heart of Jesus in May 2020 as the bookkeeper and now also works at St. Anne.  She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and has a Bachelor of Science from Portland State University in Business Administration: Finance-Law, and an Accounting Certificate from City University. 

Prior to joining the Parish Family, Lisa held management positions at Washington Mutual and Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle.  She is an active tennis player, golfer, and is involved in taking care of her father.

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Ann has experience working with a range of publications and their promotion, including as an editor for an independent scholarly press, a publisher for a print and online literary journal, and a freelance editor. A native of St. Louis, she has lived in Seattle for the past fourteen years. Outside of work, she enjoys reading, running, baking, and spending time with her family.

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Karianne has a Master’s in Teaching from the University of the Cumberlands and a Specialist Degree in Educational Leadership at Northwest Nazarene University. Karianne became an educator because she believes that all children deserve a high-quality education, and in particular, she felt a deep call to nurture children and support their families in the educational process. As a principal, she loves to facilitate the “just right” conditions for each child to thrive–academically, spiritually, and socially. Outside of school, Karianne enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with her family.

Sean came to St. Anne School in 2011 as a 4th grade teacher. He went on to teach 7th grade, coordinate the school’s Stewardship Learning, and in 2021 became the vice principal. He has served as the principal since 2025. A graduate of the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program, run by the University of Notre Dame, he has a Master’s in Educational Leadership. Sean and his family live in Bellevue; his two sons make the commute with him and are students at St. Anne. The family enjoys swimming, biking, running camping at Lopez Island, spending time with family in Spokane, and taking road trips to Montana. Since that first interview to be a 4th grade teacher, Sean has felt at home at St. Anne and is thrilled and humbled at the opportunity to serve the community.

As the Director of Parish Ministry, Jessica is responsible for visioning and managing sacramental preparation, faith formation, the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA), youth & young adult programming, and evangelization for the Parish Family. Jessica earned a master’s degree in theology with an emphasis in Thomistic studies from the International Theological Institute in Austria and her previous roles have included teaching third grade at a Classical charter school, campus ministry for Colorado State University, and being a leadership coach for pastors. Jessica hails from California and Colorado, and is from a large Catholic family. When not working, she enjoys exploring Seattle’s coffee scene, needle crafts, and traveling. 

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Charlie leads music during worship. He coordinates the choir, cantors and musicians. He also creates the worship aid for each liturgy.

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Bri performs administrative tasks, coordinates office activities, ensures efficient operations, and is the first voice you hear when you call the Our Lady of Fatima parish office. She is most likely the person who can assist with your inquiries.

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Maggie’s friendly demeanor and wagging tail make her a favorite among parishioners and staff. She excels at making everyone feel welcome and appreciated. Maggie ensures that every day is filled with joy and productivity.

Brigid is the Director of Finance for the parish family. Brigid completed her Bachelor of Arts in history at the University of Dallas and has a Master’s in Business Administration from Simmons University. She is also a published children’s book author and avid traveler. Together with husband Brian, she loves having the PNW as a playground to explore.

Throughout her career Brigid has been passionate about relationship building and approaching problem-solving with creativity. Prior to joining the parish family, Brigid worked in higher education international programs, which included managing budgets and helping participants get the most out of their global experiences.

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Levi is our reliable caretaker, dedicated to maintaining and preserving the Our Lady of Fatima parish buildings and grounds. He ensures a pristine and operational environment for all parish events and activities.

Leslie serves as the bookkeeper for both Our Lady of Fatima parish and school ensuring all financial records are accurate and in compliance. She also serves as the Business Manager for the school where she is responsible for student enrollment, tuition, contracts, and supports the principal with financial reporting and budgeting.

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