Father DePalma was born and raised in Albuquerque, the eldest of six children.  He grew up in Queen of Heaven Parish and attended Del Norte High School and the University of New Mexico.  After working for 17 years with the phone company in downtown Albuquerque, he went for seminary studies at Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland.  He was ordained a priest on June 7, 2003 and has been the pastor of St. Joseph's Parish in Springer, NM as well as Immaculate Conception Parish in Cimarron, NM.  He spent five years as a priest in residence at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Rio Rancho before becoming the pastor of San Ysidro.  In addition to his duties in Corrales, he is also the director of priestly vocations for the Archdiocese, a position that he has had for the past five years.