Speaker Bios

12th Annual Tampa Bay
Men's Conference Speakers

FATHER LARRY RICHARDS

Father Larry Richards has been a priest since 1989 for the Diocese of Erie, Pennsylvania and he currently serves as pastor of St. Joseph Church/Bread of Life Community in Erie. In 2004 Father founded The Reason For Our Hope Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to ‘spreading the Good News’ by educating others about Jesus Christ and the Catholic faith through CDs, DVDs and books.

Father Larry’s first book, “Be a Man! Becoming the Man God Created You To Be” was published by Ignatius Press in October of 2009, and was the #1 best seller by Ignatius Press in 2010. Father Larry’s second book, “Surrender! The Life-Changing Power of Doing God’s Will” was published by Our Sunday Visitor in September of 2011. In 2014, a Catholic Men’s Bible, NABRE, with introduction and instructions by Fr. Larry was published by Our Sunday Visitor. A Scripture Desk Calendar entitled “No Bible, No Breakfast! No Bible, No Bed!” containing both morning and evening Scripture passages and encouraging words from Fr. Larry, was published by The Word Among Us in 2014.

Father hosts the EWTN internet radio show called “The Reason For Our Hope” on Mondays and Fridays at 1:00 p.m. (EST), and the EWTN radio show called “Father Knows Best” on Mondays and Fridays at 4:00 a.m. (EST), and previously was a favorite on the EWTN radio show called “Open Line” on Thursdays from 2015 thru 2020

Learn more about Father Larry here.

Back to Conference Home

DR. RAY GUARENDI

Dr. Ray Guarendi is a Catholic father of ten adopted children, a clinical psychologist, author, professional speaker, and national radio and television host. His radio show, “The Dr. Is In” can be heard on over 440 stations and Sirius XM channel 130. His TV show, “Living Right With Dr. Ray” can be seen on EWTN Global Catholic Network and is aired in 140 countries.

Dr. Ray’s national EWTN television series, “Living Right With Dr. Ray,” is in its 6th season. The world is in great need of the truth, and of authentic guidance in finding the answers to life’s daily family issues. Dr. Ray’s television program combines the wit, humor, and experience of its host with the timeless wisdom of the Catholic Church to provide these answers. The program has captivated TV viewers around the world through the dynamic format of a faithfully Catholic family psychologist interacting with a live audience on a wide range of topics.

In addition to the Parenting and Family genre, Dr. Ray speaks on many topics concerning the Catholic faith. As an adult “revert,” he has written and spoken extensively on Catholic Apologetics. His ecclesiastically approved books, What Catholics Really Believe and Why Be Catholic are a basis for many of his presentations designed to help Catholics understand and defend the wisdom and beauty of the one, true faith. His book, When Faith Causes Family Friction, addresses many issues of faith that are surprisingly common causes of division among family members and relatives.

Learn more about Dr. Ray here.

Back to Conference Home

Fr. Michael Carruthers

Monsignor Michael Carruthers was born May 6, 1964 in Manhasset, New York. He moved to South Florida with his family in 1973. He was a member of St. Martin de Porres Parish in Jensen Beach and attended public schools, graduating from Martin County Senior High and Indian River Community College. In 1984, he entered St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami, and completed his studies for the priesthood at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach. He was ordained for the Archdiocese of Miami May 11, 1991. He served as parochial vicar at Epiphany Parish, South Miami, before being named priest-secretary to Miami’s second and third archbishops: first, Archbishop Edward McCarthy, and then, Archbishop Emeritus John C. Favalora. Msgr. Carruthers then served as parochial vicar at Immaculate Conception Church in Hialeah, where he resided while obtaining a master’s degree in exceptional student education from Florida International University, with a specialization in autism.

In 2005, he was named rector of St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami. Five years later, in August 2010, he was named pastor of St. Augustine Church and Catholic Student Center in Coral Gables. He was given the honorary title of Monsignor by Pope Benedict XVI in March 2008. In July 1, 2019, he began serving as parochial administrator of Resurrection. He will be incardinated as a priest of the Diocese of St Petersburg on July 1, 2021 and installed as pastor of St. Lawrence Catholic Church on the same day.

“Trust Him when dark doubts assail thee; trust Him when trust is small. Trust Him when simply to trust Him is the hardest thing of all.” -Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Back to Conference Home

JONATHAN “BEARDEDBLEVINS” BLEVINS

Jonathan Blevins, aka BeardedBlevins, is a Catholic evangelist and streamer – plays video games to live online audiences – with over 275,000 followers on his various media platforms. He is founder of Little Flower Media which aims to meet young people where they are (online) by providing engaging cultural content geared toward seeing life through a Catholic lens.

Notably, he is the older brother of the world’s #1 professional online gamer, the blue-haired multimillionaire with multi-millions of followers “Ninja” Tyler Blevins. Actually, it was Tyler who suggested that Jonathan use his video gaming acumen and entertaining personality to “share the Good News” online.

Jonathan has a master’s degree in Religious Education with an emphasis in Youth and Young Adult Ministry and a BA in Theology from Silver Lake College of the Holy Family in Manitowoc, WI. He has over 15 years of experience in youth ministry and evangelization. Most recently, he served as the Director of Evangelization at St. James in Arlington Heights, IL. He is a well-known and respected speaker for youth-oriented events, retreats and conferences around the world.

Jonathan Blevins is married to his beautiful wife, Jodi, and they have 2 sons Caleb (6) and Zachary (5) as well as a beautiful baby girl Chiara (2).

Jonathan’s website: https://www.beardedblevins.com/
A YouTube video of his streaming story: https://youtu.be/Hd3e7nOpGTk

Back to Conference Home

FR. SHAWN MONAHAN

Fr. Shawn Monahan, a native of Boston, entered the Oblates of the Virgin Mary seminary in 1995 after graduating from Franciscan University of Steubenville. He was ordained to the priesthood in 2002. Before returning to the seminary as Novice Master in 2013, he enjoyed a variety of apostolic work in Youth Ministry, Prison Ministry, Hospital Chaplaincy and Parish life. He studied at Creighton University’s Christian Spirituality Program in Omaha, Nebraska and completed his certification as a spiritual director and guide of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola at the Lanteri Center in Denver, Colorado. “Over the past eight years working in both the ministry of seminary formation and retreat ministry, I have developed a deeper understanding of the dynamics of growth and maturity in the Christian life and how to overcome and heal the wounds that hold us back from experiencing Jesus’ deepest desire for each of us: “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”

Back to Conference Home

BISHOP GREGORY L PARKES

Pope Francis appointed Most Reverend Gregory L. Parkes as Bishop of the Diocese of St. Petersburg on November 28, 2016, and his Installation Mass was celebrated on January 4, 2017 at St. Jude the Apostle Cathedral. He succeeded Bishop Robert Lynch who retired at the age of 75 and is serving as Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of St. Petersburg.

Bishop Parkes believes that serving for God’s glory is the guiding principle of his ministry, which is why he chose, “To your name give the glory” from Psalm 115, Verse 1 as his pastoral motto.

Prior to his appointment to the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Bishop Parkes served as the fifth Bishop of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee from 2012-2016. Before answering the call to the priesthood, Bishop Parkes worked for several years in Tampa’s banking industry. During that time, he attended Christ the King Catholic Church in South Tampa.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from Florida State University. After much prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, he realized that God had other plans for his life and he began the path to priesthood. He entered the St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach in 1993 and continued his studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome where he graduated with a Sacred Bachelor of Theology (S.T.B.) and a Licentiate in Canon Law (J.C.L.).

He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Orlando by Bishop Norbert Dorsey on June 26, 1999.

His assignments after ordination included parochial vicar at Holy Family Catholic Church in Orlando and pastor of Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Celebration. Bishop Parkes served the Diocese of Orlando as Vicar General and Chancellor for Canonical Affairs while also serving as pastor of Corpus Christi Parish.

Educational Background:

S. Finance, Florida State University, 1986
T.B., Pontifical Gregorian University, 1998
C.L., Pontifical Gregorian University, 2000

USCCB Offices Held:

Treasurer, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, elected November 14, 2018

USCCB Committee Memberships:

USCCB Committee on Communications, Committee Member, appointed November 16, 2018
USCCB Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance, Committee Member, appointed January 2, 2018
USCCB Subcommittee on Native American Affairs, Committee Member, appointed 2015
USCCB Committee on Budget and Finance, Committee Member

Other National/Curial Responsibilities:

Member of the Board of Directors of Catholic Relief Services, 2017 to present
Episcopal Liaison to National Council of Catholic Women (NCCW), 2016 to present

Bishop Parkes was born on April 2, 1964, in Mineola, NY to Ronald and Joan Parkes. His younger brother Stephen, also a priest, was appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Savanah on July 8, 2020. Bishop Parkes’ parents and his older brother Christopher are deceased.

Back to Top