Meet the 11th pair of brother bishops in U.S. Church history.
Bishop Gregory Parkes of St. Petersburg, Florida, and Bishop Stephen Parkes of Savannah, Georgia, share a rare distinction: they are the 11th pair of biological brother bishops in U.S. Church history.
“The fact that my brother said yes to God, I think, gave me the courage to do so as well,” Bishop Gregory Parkes told Catherine Hadro of EWTN News In Depth during a sit-down interview alongside his brother.
The elder brother by 14 months to the day, he followed his brother Stephen into the priesthood a few years after they both graduated from college. The two grew up in a family with three boys, and Stephen said he always believed his older brother would be the priest of the family.
“When I was growing up, I wanted to be a physician,” he said. “And I realize now at this point in life, that God wanted me to be a doctor, and I am a doctor of souls.”
He entered seminary one year before his older brother. After being ordained, both served as pastors at new parishes in Orlando, Florida, beginning in 2005. Father Stephen was
