Stephen D. Parkes

Stephen Douglas Parkes (born June 2, 1965) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has served as the Bishop of Savannah, Georgia, since September 2020. [1]

His Excellency, The Most Reverend

Stephen Douglas Parkes
Bishop of Savannah
DioceseSavannah
AppointedJuly 8, 2020
InstalledSeptember 23, 2020
PredecessorGregory John Hartmayer
Orders
OrdinationMay 23, 1998
by Norbert Dorsey
ConsecrationSeptember 23, 2020
by Gregory John Hartmayer, Gregory Parkes, and John Gerard Noonan
Personal details
Born (1965-06-02) June 2, 1965
Mineola, New York
MottoGaudete In Domino Semper
Coat of arms
Styles of
Stephen Douglas Parkes
Reference style
Spoken styleYour Excellency
Religious styleBishop

Early life and education

Stephen D. Parkes was born in Mineola, New York, on June 2, 1965. He is the youngest of three boys born to Joan and Ron Parkes. Parkes attended Massapequa High School in New York. His older brother Gregory is the Catholic Bishop of St. Petersburg, Florida.[1]

Parkes earned a bachelor's degree in Business Administration/Marketing from the University of South Florida. He received a Master of Divinity from the St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida.[2]

Parkes is fluent in Spanish, having studied it in high school, college, and seminary, plus a six week language immersion course in Costa Rica.[3]

Priesthood

On May 23, 1998, Parkes was ordained. He was assigned as parochial vicar to Annunciation Catholic Church in Altamonte Springs, Florida. In 2004, Parkes was named Spiritual Director for the Catholic Campus Ministry at the University of Central Florida.

Parkes' first appointment was in 2005 as pastor was at Most Precious Blood in Oviedo, Florida, in 2005. In 2011, he returned to Annunciation Catholic Church to serve as pastor until 2020.

Parkes also served on the Investment Committee of the Diocese of Orlando, as dean of the North Central Deanery (2010 - 2020), and a Spiritual Director to the Catholic Foundation of Central Florida (2019-2020).[4][5]

Episcopal career

On July 8, 2020, Pope Francis appointed Parkes bishop for the Diocese of Savannah .[6][7][8] On September 23, 2020,Parkes was consecrated as bishop at the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist in Savannah, with attendance restricted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]

On September 29, 2020, Parkes and the diocese were sued by William Fred Baker Jr. He claimed that the diocese knew that Wayland Yoder Brown, a priest, was molesting him when he was 10 years old at St. James Catholic School in Savannah. Brown was sentenced to prison for sexual abuses crimes.[9]

See also

References
  1. "Unique ceremony installs region's new Catholic bishop". WRDW News. September 24, 2020. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  2. "Pope Francis Names Father Stephen Parkes of Diocese of Orlando as Bishop of Savannah". July 8, 2020.
  3. Skutch, Jan. "Savannah's Catholic Bishop-elect Stephen D. Parkes preaches hope in the face of pandemic". Savannah Morning News. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  4. "Father Stephen Parkes is appointed 15th bishop of Savannah". DioceseofOrlando.org. July 8, 2020.
  5. "Pope Francis Names Father Stephen Parkes of Diocese of Orlando as Bishop of Savannah". usccb.org. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  6. "Pope Francis Names Father Stephen Parkes of Diocese of Orlando as Bishop of Savannah". Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  7. "THE DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH WELCOMES BISHOP-ELECT STEPHEN D. PARKES". Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  8. "Pope Francis names new Savannah bishop". Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  9. "Lawsuit alleges Catholic Diocese of Savannah covered up sex abuse claims". ajc. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
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