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.

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. His older brother, Gregory Parkes, is the bishop of the Diocese of St. Petersburg in Florida.

Stephen Parkes attended Massapequa High School in Massapequa, New York. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration/Marketing degree from the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida, in 1987, then worked in banking and the retail sector for several years.

In 1992, having decided to become a priest, Parkes entered the St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida, receiving a Master of Divinity degree. Parkes is fluent in Spanish, having studied it in high school, college, and seminary, plus a six-week language immersion course in Costa Rica.

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. After his ordination, the diocese assigned Parkes as parochial vicar to Annunciation Catholic Parish in Altamonte Springs, Florida. In 2004, he was also named spiritual director for the Catholic campus ministry at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

Parkes's first appointment as pastor was in 2005 at Most Precious Blood Parish in Oviedo, Florida. Then-Bishop Thomas Wenski appointed Parkes as dean of the North Central Deanery in 2008. The next year, the diocese returned Parkes to Annunciation Parish, where he also served as pastor for the next nine years.

During his time in Orlando, Parkes was also a member of the Investment Committee and, starting in 2019, a spiritual director to the Catholic Foundation of Central Florida.

Bishop of Savannah
On July 8, 2020, Pope Francis appointed Parkes as bishop of the Diocese of Savannah. On September 23, 2020, he was consecrated by Archbishop Gregory Hartmayer, with his brother Gregory Parkes and Noonan as co-consecrators, at the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist in Savannah.

On September 29, 2020, Stephen Parkes and the diocese were sued by William Fred Baker Jr. Baker said that the diocese knew that Reverend Wayland Brown was molesting him in 1987 and 1988 when he was a 10-year-old attending St. James Catholic School in Savannah. Brown received a 20-year sentence for sexual abuse crimes.

In May 2022, Parkes contacted the Vatican Dicastery for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments requesting permission to continue the Traditional Latin Mass in the Diocese of Savannah. This dispensation was granted for the period of one year, and in September 2023, the Dicastery extended this dispensation for an additional two years.

After the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council (PAC) of Georgia released its report on sexual abuse by clergy, Parkes made the following statement on March 24:"The sexual abuse crisis has been a blight on the Church and a source of profound suffering. While the sins of the past cannot be overlooked – and indeed must be acknowledged – I assure you that the Church of today is firmly committed to the safety and protection of children."Within the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Parkes is a member of the Committee on Pro Life Activities and the Subcommittee on Native American Affairs. He is a board member for Ave Maria University in Immokalee, Florida, and St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary.