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 assigned to The Most Precious Blood in Oviedo, Florida, and Father Gregory to Corpus Christi in Celebration, Florida. 

Father Gregory said the two often helped each other navigate building parish communities from the ground up. 

“We would meet on a weekly basis and talk about the challenges we were facing,” he said. “I would ask my brother, ‘how are you doing this?’ Or, ‘what did you do to get this started?’ So we often would help each other in that way.” 

Now bishops of separate dioceses since Stephen was appointed by Pope Francis in 2020, the two still see each other multiple times throughout the year for retreats, meetings, and conferences. 

“Maybe we prefer to text each other maybe than spend long conversations on the phone,” Bishop Gregory said. “I think that’s our preferred way of communicating.” 

“And that’s probably typical for a lot of adult siblings,” the younger Parkes added with a smile. “I think we do pretty well.” 

Gregory Parkes stands about four inches taller than his younger brother, but the two say they resemble each other in their pastoral leadership. That similarity stems from their upbringing, he said. 

“Our parents, when we were young, as kids, always gave us a very good example of what it means to serve God and to serve his people,” Father Gregory said. “As a family we were always very involved in ministry at our parish.” 

The family lived walking distance from their local parish on Long Island. The boys served as altar servers, both parents served on the parish council, and their mother worked for the parish for a time. The family frequently hosted local priests for dinner or holiday celebrations, Father Gregory shared.   

“The church was a second home for us,” Father Stephen said. “It was a place we always felt very comfortable. I think that that certainly allowed us to freely discern and to be encouraged with a vocation.” 

He often thinks of his father as a model for his current pastoral work.  

“I often look to his example of fatherhood and think of how he dealt with situations, whether it be at work or in the home,” he said.  

The two are the only surviving members of their immediate family, but they look back fondly on their home life as the first stage in their discernment. Their parents, Joan and Ron, passed away in 2000 and 2002 and their oldest brother, Christopher, died in 2017. Bishop Stephen said the memory of his parents still informs his vocation.  

“Their presence is with us in a very special way,” he said.  

He added that they would be proud — and perhaps surprised — at where the two brothers are now.  

“I like to think they’re watching over us from heaven and certainly helping us with their prayers to be the men, to be the bishops that God has called us to be,” Bishop Gregory said.