Tom Wilkes on Community, Stewardship & St. James Cathedral

Tom Wilkes grew up in College Park when oranges groves were plentiful and Disney was a Sentinel Star article about a mystery buyer of property. After college he and his wife, Jean Wilkes, settled in Orlando and joined St. James Cathedral in 1978 where they both became active in parish life.

Wilkes highlights St. James Cathedral as a leader in the development of downtown Orlando in this two part oral history interview.

The generosity of the parishioners was key to the community development of the 1970s and the Cathedral restoration completed in November 2011.

"Parish Council President Tom Wilkes spearheaded the development of stewardship -the tithing concept—by initiating in 1982 the practice of lay people speaking from the pulpit on Stewardship Sunday," as Ed Hayes documents in The Good News of St. James Cathedral: A Short History of the first 100 Years of a Catholic Parish. This successful practice became a St. James tradition which continues to this day.

Tom Wilkes is currently a partner in the downtown law firm Gray Robinson, the General Counsel to the Orange County Property Appraiser and the Orange County Library District. He served as Orange County Attorney, for Mayors Linda Chapin, Mel Martinez, and Richard Crotty, and serves in leadership roles on numerous civic committees.

In this March 26th 2011 oral history interview at St. James Cathedral parishioner Tom Wilkes traces the history of the development of the altar server program at St. James Cathedral from the early 1980's when you had a dozen servers in the ministry to the investiture of new altar servers this year with over a hundred servers in the program. Mr. Wilkes recalls the program leaders through the years and the contributions they made. He begins with local entrepreneur Tom Riggs who led the program in the early 1980's and gave the young people discipline and training. Richard Niland provided leadership from the mid 1980's to the early 1990's and insisted on reverence. Then Debbie Ferrone led the way for the Investiture Service to be part of the Mass at Saint James Cathedral as it was this May 15th 2011. Kevin and Kelly Wilkes, Tom and Jean's son and daughter, now lead the ministry. Their younger daughter Kelly who has served as an altar server since the fourth grade was selected by her peers to lead as Knight Commander this year.

Tom notes that the youth involved in the ministry are all high achievers, leaders in the community with special accomplishments in academics, athletics, club work, and community organizations. His wife Jean Wilkes sees the altar servers as the Christian leaders of the future. Tom says, "I don't think it is an overstatement to say that the altar server program at St. James may be the best in the United States, it may even be the best in the world." When the magisterium was here meeting in Orlando, one of the bishops from Rome told St. James Rector Fr. John McCormick, "That not even in the holy city of Rome are there altar servers that show the reverence and discipline and perfection that St. James altar servers show." Tom says, "This is an example of the kinds of things at St. James that are so important to our families, the school, the altar server program, so many programs here at St. James are such an integral part of family life and such an integral part of the downtown, of the city of Orlando

Tom Wilkes grew up in College Park when oranges groves were plentiful and Disney was a Sentinel Star article about a mystery buyer of property. After college he and his wife, Jean Wilkes, settled in Orlando and joined St. James Cathedral in 1978 where they both became active in parish life.

Wilkes highlights St. James Cathedral as a leader in the development of downtown Orlando in this two part oral history interview.

The generosity of the parishioners was key to the community development of the 1970s and the Cathedral restoration completed in November 2011.

"Parish Council President Tom Wilkes spearheaded the development of stewardship -the tithing concept—by initiating in 1982 the practice of lay people speaking from the pulpit on Stewardship Sunday," as Ed Hayes documents in The Good News of St. James Cathedral: A Short History of the first 100 Years of a Catholic Parish. This successful practice became a St. James tradition which continues to this day.

Tom Wilkes is currently a partner in the downtown law firm Gray Robinson, the General Counsel to the Orange County Property Appraiser and the Orange County Library District.  He served as Orange County Attorney, for Mayors Linda Chapin, Mel Martinez, and Richard Crotty, and serves in leadership roles on numerous civic committees.