On June 26, 1999, Parkes was ordained a priest at
Saint James Cathedral in Orlando for the
Diocese of Orlando by Bishop
Norbert Dorsey. 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,
Thomas Wenski appointed Parkes as chancellor of the diocese. He also became its
vicar general in 2009. In October 2015, Parkes authorized a petition for
Pope Francis to
canonize 86 Native Americans, priests, religious lay brothers, and men, women and children known as
Martyrs of La Florida. A month later, Parkes presented the petition to the
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). which subsequently endorsed the petition. In October 2023, that petition advanced from the diocese to the Vatican, where officials will determine if the individuals named in the petition qualify as
martyrs, a prerequisite for their
beatification. 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 cited Marien’s excellent record as a pastor and school administrator.
Bishop of St. Petersburg On November 28, 2016,
Pope Francis appointed Parkes as bishop of St. Petersburg, succeeding Bishop
Robert Lynch. In response to the
Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report released in August 2018, Parkes issued a statement asking forgiveness on behalf of fellow clergy who had not protected children. He also directed diocesan officials to launch an accountability website detailing the safeguards the diocese put in place for those working with children and vulnerable adults, such as
background screening and
fingerprinting. 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. The diocese and Parkes defended against this action' it was dismissed on March 29, 2019 by agreement of the parties. Parkes attended his second
ad limina 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. In May 2021, Parkes blessed the new altar and celebrated mass at a new parish, the first of its kind for
Vietnamese Catholics in Tampa. In June 2022, surgeons amputated Parkes right leg below the knee after years of unsuccessful treatment. In September 2022, he reported being able to drive and walk unassisted again and to live independently. In November 2024, he presented a $300,000 donation to
Catholic Charities in response to
Hurricanes Helene and
Milton.Parkes instituted the diocese’s first
parental leave policy in January 2024. The benefit provides eight weeks of paid parental leave for all qualified diocesan employees. The policy was named “Forming the Family in Faith” .
50th Anniversary Vision Plan In 2018, the diocese celebrated its
Golden Jubilee. In honor of the anniversary, Parkes led a three-year vision plan titled "Courageously Living the Gospel" focusing on evangelization, alleviating social and economic hardships and meeting the spiritual needs of youth and young adults. Parkes blessed a number of new facilities and programs focused specifically on affordable housing and shelter for the unhoused, including Catholic Charities’ first shelter in
Citrus County in 2018, affordable housing in
Crystal River in 2023, a shelter that allows male heads of households in
Pasco County and a new permanent supportive housing project associated with the
Society of St. Vincent de Paul in
New Port Richey in 2021. He also blessed a new facility at BayCare Medical Respite Program located at Pinellas Hope.
St. Anthony’s Hospital, a local Catholic hospital and part of the
BayCare system, oversees the Medical Respite Program.Ten parishes in central Pinellas County began collaborating on a new counseling services program that offers professional mental health services for both Catholics and non-Catholics in the community. ==See also==