Catholic News Service

•  Share
• CNS Permissions
• related items
• Pro-lifer says allowing assisted suicide like 'state-sanctioned execution'
• Bishops condemn bills to expand abortion, repeal conscience protection
• Update: Catholics, Muslims urged to work for peace by respecting 'the other'
• Johnson hopes 'Unplanned' rating won't keep parents from taking children

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Robert N. Lynch of St. Petersburg, Florida, and named as his successor Bishop Gregory L. Parkes of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Florida.

The changes were announced Nov. 28 in Washington by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Bishop Lynch, who has headed the St. Petersburg Diocese since 1996, is 75, the age at which canon law requires bishops to turn in their resignation to the pope. Bishop Parkes, 52, has been the bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee since 2012.

"I'm very grateful to Pope Francis for appointing me bishop of St. Petersburg," Bishop Parkes said in a statement. "It has been a joy to serve as bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee for the past four and a half years. I'm going to miss the panhandle and all those I've had the pleasure of meeting during my time here."

He will be installed as the fifth bishop of St. Petersburg Jan. 4 at the Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle in St. Petersburg.

With his trademark soft smile, Bishop Lynch at a news conference praised Bishop Parkes for "beautifully shepherding" the vast, missionary diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee. The diocese of the state's panhandle includes 18 counties, and takes roughly four and a half hours to travel from one end to the other.

"This is not a happy day in the history of the Pensacola-Tallahassee Diocese," Bishop Lynch said, remarking on how Bishop Parkes will be missed. "Join with me in saying a prayer for our sisters and brothers in the Panhandle who are now entering the 'cone of uncertainty.'"

Before leaving the podium, Bishop Lynch, who used the aid of a walker, thanked those present. "I give thanks for the joy and happiness this diocese has brought me." He paused, tearing up before continuing, "But what a joy it was this morning to pray for Gregory at Mass."

On March 20, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed then-Father Parkes to be the fifth bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee. He was installed June 5, 2012.

Born in Mineola, New York, April 2, 1964, Bishop Parkes attended Daytona Beach Community College in Florida before earning a bachelor's degree in finance from Florida State University. He went to St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida, from 1993 to 1996, and the Pontifical North American College in Rome, from 1996 to 2000.

He earned a sacred theology degree in 1988 and a canon law degree in 2000, both from the Pontifical Gregorian University, also in Rome.

He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Orlando, Florida, by Bishop Norbert M. Dorsey June 26, 1999. He has two brothers, Christopher Parkes and Father Stephen Parkes, who is a priest of the Diocese of Orlando.

After his priestly ordination, then-Father Parkes' parish assignments included parochial vicar at Holy Family Catholic Church in Orlando, 2000-2004, and parochial administrator and pastor of Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Celebration, Florida, 2005-2012. He also was the Orlando Diocese's vicar general and chancellor for canonical affairs.

Bishop Parkes knew Bishop Lynch years before he even discerned a call to the priesthood. He worked in the financial district in Tampa, Florida, and attended Christ the King Parish in Tampa. No matter if the two met when the younger man was a seminarian, a priest or a bishop, Bishop Parkes recalled how Bishop Lynch was always kind and gracious.

"Bishop Lynch, I know you will be missed," Bishop Parkes said at the news conference.

He also shared his pastoral motto: "Nomini Tuo Da Gloriam," which is from Psalm 115, verse 1: "To your name give the glory."

"That has always been my guiding principal of ministry -- to serve for God's glory and his people," he said. "I ask for all your prayers that I will be a good shepherd, a faithful shepherd and a holy shepherd that you all so wholeheartedly deserve."

When asked the difference between serving the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee versus St. Petersburg, Bishop Parks said while the panhandle diocese is larger in area, it has a lower population of Catholics. Within its 18 counties, 5 percent of the population is Catholic. In contrast, the St. Petersburg Diocese comprises 3,177 square miles and has a total population of some 3 million people, of which 14 percent are Catholic.

But while the numbers are different, Bishop Parkes said the needs are similar. "People are searching spiritually," he said. "They are looking for meaning in their lives. They are looking for hope. That is the role of the bishop and his priests. To help them search. Help them find hope and meaning."

Before he was ordained to head the St. Petersburg Diocese in January 1996, then-Msgr. Lynch was general secretary of what was then the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the U.S. Catholic Conference in Washington. Before that, he was a staff member at the bishops' conference as both layman and priest, including a stint as associate general secretary.

Born May 27, 1941, in Charleston, West Virginia, Robert Nugent Lynch received his bachelor of arts degree from the Pontifical College Josephinum in Worthington, Ohio, in May 1963 and his master of divinity degree from Pope John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Massachusetts, in May 1978. That same month, he was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Miami.

He served as associate pastor of St. James in North Miami, then as rector and president of St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami. As the fourth bishop of St. Petersburg, he succeeded Archbishop John C. Favalora, who had been named Miami archbishop a year earlier. Bishop Lynch chose as his motto, "Pro Amicis Suis" ("For his friends'').

Bishop Lynch continued the reorganization and management of the diocese begun under Archbishop Favalora. He commissioned the building of a new pastoral center, which was formally dedicated March 31, 2000. He also took an active role in planning for the future construction of new Catholic high schools, and improvements to the existing schools.

In one of his last blog posts as St. Petersburg's bishop, Bishop Lynch recounted his recent trip in late October to Rome, where among other things he visited four men studying there to be priests for St. Petersburg.

"As I enter the remaining months of my leadership of the local church of St. Petersburg, I do so with the knowledge that almost all of my seminarians are not pursuing priesthood for respectability, ambition, power and influence but to be comfortable with a pastoral strategy that makes sense in a changing world and culture," he wrote Oct. 28.

He added: "The very best things I bequeath to my successor are the future priests he will ordain for your service and that of the Lord."

- - -

Jean Gonzalez of the Florida Catholic staff contributed to this story from St. Petersburg.