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Gregory Parkes

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His Excellency, The Most Reverend

Gregory Lawrence Parkes

JCL
Bishop of St. Petersburg
ChurchCatholic Church
ArchdioceseMiami
DioceseSt. Petersburg
AppointedNovember 28, 2016
InstalledJanuary 4, 2017
PredecessorRobert Nugent Lynch
Previous post(s)
Orders
OrdinationJune 26, 1999
by Norbert Dorsey, C.P.
ConsecrationJune 5, 2012
by Thomas Gerard Wenski, John Gerard Noonan, and Felipe de Jesús Estévez
Personal details
Born (1964-04-02) April 2, 1964 (age 60)
Mineola, New York, US
MottoNomini tuo da gloriam
(To your name give the glory)
Styles of
Gregory Lawrence Parkes
Reference style
Spoken styleYour Excellency
Religious styleBishop

Gregory Lawrence Parkes (born April 2, 1964) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Parkes has been serving as the fifth bishop of the Diocese of St. Petersburg in Florida since 2017. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee in Florida from 2012 to 2016.

Early life and education

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Gregory Parkes was born on April 2, 1964, in Mineola, New York. His brother Stephen Parkes is the Bishop of Savannah in Georgia. For primary school, Gregory Parkes attended St. Rose of Lima School in Massapequa, New York. Parkes graduated from Massapequa High School and attended Daytona Beach Community College in Daytona, Beach, Florida. He earned a Bachelor of Finance degree from Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, and worked in banking in Tampa for seven years.[1][2]

Parkes decided to become a priest after attending morning masses and prayers. He studied for the priesthood at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida. In 1990, Parkes entered the Pontifical North American College and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he received a Bachelor of Theology degree and a Licentiate in Canon Law in 2000.[3][1][4]

Priesthood

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On June 26, 1999, Parkes was ordained a priest at Saint James Cathedral in Orland for the Diocese of Orlando by Bishop Norbert Dorsey.[5][6]

After his 1999 ordination, the diocese assigned Parkes as the parochial vicar of Holy Family Parish in Orlando. He was transferred in 2005 to become the founding pastor of Corpus Christi Parish in Celebration, Florida. That same year, Bishop Thomas Wenski appointed Parkes as chancellor of the diocese. He also became its vicar general in 2009.[3]

Episcopal career

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Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee

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On March 20, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Parkes as the fifth bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee. Parkes attended his first Ad Limina meeting with the pope at the Vatican prior to his consecration. Parkes was installed and consecrated on June 5, 2012, at St. Paul's Church in Pensacola, Florida. Archbishop Thomas Wenski was the consecrating prelate. Bishops John Noonan and Felipe Estévez were the co-consecrators.[5]

In May 2016, a group of parents protested the appointment of Reverend Roy C Marien as principal of John Paul II Catholic High School in Tallahassee, Florida. The parents objected to several teen novels authored by Marien that they felt were sexually explicit. In response, Parkes announced his full support for Marien.[7]

Bishop of St. Petersburg

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On November 28, 2016, Pope Francis appointed Parkes as bishop of St. Petersburg, succeeding Bishop Robert Lynch.[8][5] Parkes was installed at the Cathedral of Saint Jude the Apostle in St. Petersburg on January 4, 2017. For his pastoral motto, Parkes chose “To your name give the glory” from Psalm 115, Verse 1 from the Old Testament of the Bible.[2] On November 14, 2018, Parkes was elected treasurer of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).[2]

On October 17, 2018, Parkes and the diocese were named in a sexual abuse lawsuit by Mark Cattell, a Virginia resident. Cattell alleged that, at age nine, he had been abused in 1981 by Reverend Robert D. Huneke from Christ the King Parish in Tampa. In 1980, Huneke had sent a letter to the Bishop of Rockville Centre in New York, saying he had abused a boy named John Salveson years earlier in New York. On August 7, 1981, Salveson, now an adult, had written Bishop William Larkin,then Bishop of St. Petersburg about Huneke. Despite Salveson's complaints, the diocese did not removed Huneke from ministry until 1982.[9]

Parkes attended his second ad lumina visit to the Vatican in 2019. While Francis met with Parkes, the pope noticed Parkes' 6'8" height and asked if he ever played basketball. Parkes started a "View from the Top" podcast, giving an overview of the diocese, and his "Invitation to Worship" podcast, giving a quick overview of the weekly reading.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Previous Bishops of the Diocese". Catholic Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Most Reverend Gregory L. Parkes". Catholic Diocese of Saint Petersburg. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Pope Accepts Resignation of Bishop Doran of Rockford, IL, Names Msgr. David Malloy to Succeed Him; Names Father Gregory Parkes of Diocese of Orlando, FL, as Bishop Of Pensacola-Tallahassee, FL". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
  4. ^ "Pope meets United States' newest and tallest bishop". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "Bishop Gregory Lawrence Parkes [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
  6. ^ "Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee". GCatholic.org. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
  7. ^ Call, James. "Priest's novels upset parents at John Paul II High School". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
  8. ^ Harris, Elise (November 28, 2016). "Pope taps Tallahassee bishop to lead St. Petersburg diocese". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  9. ^ Waveney, Ann Moore (October 17, 2018). "Man files suit against Diocese of St. Petersburg saying a Tampa priest sexually abused him in the 1980s". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
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Episcopal succession

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Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Bishop of St. Petersburg
2017–Present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee
2012–2017 		Succeeded by
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