Rev. Craig Morley

Father Craig Morley, the third of four children, is a native of Brandon, Florida. His parents were founding members of Nativity Catholic Church in Brandon. After graduating from high school in 1978, Fr. Morley joined the U. S. Army and served as a helicopter pilot for six years. After leaving the army, he entered the seminary, attending the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio. Fr. Morley received a B.A. in 1988 and then completed one year of theological studies.

Fr. Morley took a leave of absence from the seminary and returned to flying in Orlando, then Miami. In 1997, he re-entered the seminary at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida. Fr. Morley was ordained to the priesthood on May 19, 2001. He served as a parochial vicar at St. Mary Catholic Church in North Tampa, the Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle in St. Petersburg, and St. Luke’s Parish in Palm Harbor. In 2008, he was assigned as pastor of St. Anthony the Abbot Church in Brooksville. Bishop Lynch assigned him to be the pastor of Holy Family Parish in St. Petersburg in 2014. Fr. Morley became the new pastor at St. Paul Catholic Church in Tampa on July 1, 2022.