ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. — A longtime Central Florida priest has been elevated to bishop of a Roman Catholic diocese in Georgia.

The Rev. Stephen D. Parkes has served as pastor of Annunciation Catholic Church in Altamonte Springs for nine years.

Before that, he was the campus minister of Catholic Campus Ministry at the University of Central Florida from 2004 to 2011.

In all, Parkes has served the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orlando for 22 years.

Pope Francis tapped Parkes as bishop for the Diocese of Savannah in Georgia in a decision made public Wednesday.

“Today I have joyous news to share with you about one of our beloved priests, Very Reverend Stephen Parkes,” Bishop John Noonan of the Diocese of Orlando said in a statement Wednesday. “Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has found him worthy of an ecclesiastical appointment to Bishop of the Diocese of Savannah and has made this announcement today.”

Roman Catholics celebrated, holding news conferences, issuing statements and posting on social media.

“We are deeply grateful to our Holy Father for this gift to our diocese,” The Very Reverend Daniel F. Firmin, diocesan administrator for the Diocese of Savannah, said in a statement. 

“His pastoral zeal and concern are immediately evident when meeting him,” Firmin added. “He has also served in various capacities and on multiple councils and boards advising the bishops of his diocese.”

The Diocese of Savannah spans 37,038 square miles in Georgia, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The region’s population of nearly 3 million includes 75,603 Catholics. His ordination and installation will be at the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist in Savannah on September 23. 

That is the date Roman Catholics celebrate the Feast of Saint Padre Pio, an Italian born in 1887 who displayed stigmata — unexplained physical wounds like the ones Jesus suffered when he was crucified — for 50 years. Pio died in 1968.

Noonan said Parkes will travel between the Diocese of Savannah and Annunciation Catholic Church, where he will continue to serve as pastor until September 23.

His ordination and installation in Savannah will happen nearly three years after his older brother, Gregory L. Parkes, underwent the same services when he became bishop of the Diocese of St. Petersburg.

“My parents were dedicated to our Catholic faith and provided a beautiful example of family life to their sons. I am blessed with a special bond of family and priestly fraternity with my brother, Bishop Gregory Parkes of the Diocese of St. Petersburg,” Stephen D. Parkes said in a statement.

“As his younger brother, I always looked up to him, believe it or not, in physical stature as he is four inches taller than I am, but also I appreciate his advice, his guidance and his love," his statement added. "Along with our sister-in-law and niece, we are a small family but blessed to be a close family. I also have relatives in North Carolina and I look forward to being within just a few hours driving distance of them.”