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 the Diocese of Savannah in 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, US
EducationUniversity of South Florida
St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary
MottoGaudete In Domino semper
(Rejoice in the Lord always)
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 sons born to Joan and Ron Parkes. Stephen Parkes attended Massapequa High School in Massapequa, New York. His older brother Gregory Parkes is the bishop of the Diocese of St. Petersburg in Florida.[1][2]

Stephen Parkes earned a Bachelor of Business Administration/Marketing from the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida, in 1987, then worked in banking and retail for several years. In 1992, he entered the St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida. receiving a Master of Divinity degree.[3] Parkes is fluent in Spanish, having studied it in high school, college, and seminary, plus a six-week language immersion course in Costa Rica.[4][2]

Priesthood

On May 23, 1998, Parkes was ordained by Bishop Norbert Dorsey to the priesthood for the Diocese of Orlando at Saint James Cathedral in Orlando.[5] After his ordination, Parkes was assigned as parochial vicar to Annunciation Catholic Parish in Altamonte Springs, Florida. In 2004, he was named spiritual director for the Catholic campus ministry at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

Parkes' first appointment as pastor was in 2005 at Most Precious Blood Parish in Oviedo, Florida. In 2011, he returned to Annunciation Catholic Parish 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 as a spiritual director to the Catholic Foundation of Central Florida (2019-2020).[6][7][2]

Bishop of Savannah

On July 8, 2020, Pope Francis appointed Parkes as bishop of the Diocese of Savannah.[8][9][10] On September 23, 2020, he was consecrated by Archbishop Gregory Hartmayer at the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist in Savannah, with attendance restricted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1][2]

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 diocese priest, was molesting him in 1987 and 1988 when he was a 10 year old attending St. James Catholic School in Savannah, Georgia. Brown, who died in prison, had received a 20-year sentence for sexual abuses crimes.[11]

See also

References
  1. "Unique ceremony installs region's new Catholic bishop". WRDW News. September 24, 2020. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  2. "Bishop Stephen D. Parkes - The Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah". diosav.org. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  3. "Pope Francis Names Father Stephen Parkes of Diocese of Orlando as Bishop of Savannah". July 8, 2020.
  4. Skutch, Jan. "Savannah's Catholic Bishop-elect Stephen D. Parkes preaches hope in the face of pandemic". Savannah Morning News. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  5. "Bishop Stephen Douglas Parkes [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  6. "Father Stephen Parkes is appointed 15th bishop of Savannah". DioceseofOrlando.org. July 8, 2020.
  7. "Pope Francis Names Father Stephen Parkes of Diocese of Orlando as Bishop of Savannah". usccb.org. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  8. "Pope Francis Names Father Stephen Parkes of Diocese of Orlando as Bishop of Savannah". Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  9. "THE DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH WELCOMES BISHOP-ELECT STEPHEN D. PARKES". Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  10. "Pope Francis names new Savannah bishop". Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  11. Poole, Shelia. "Lawsuit alleges Catholic Diocese of Savannah covered up sex abuse claims". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
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