Rev. Stephen Bartlett (Bart) Reynolds

Fr. Reynolds was born in Houston, Texas on September 7, 1961 at St. Joseph Hospital in downtown Houston, during Hurricane Carla. The second of five children born to Frank Fisher Reynolds, Jr. (+2014) and Suzanne Eileen Linbeck Reynolds (+2023), Fr. Reynolds is the seventh generation of his family to live in Texas and the fifth generation to reside in Houston. Fr. Reynolds attended St. Anne Catholic Church and was enrolled in the parish school from first through eighth grade.

Fr. Reynolds attended St. Thomas High School and graduated in 1979. He then entered the University of Notre Dame, from which he received a degree in Philosophy (B.A.) in 1983.

Two years later, Fr. Reynolds entered St. Mary Seminary in Houston. He was ordained to the Sacred Order of Deacon on January 28, 1989 and to the priesthood of Jesus Christ on May 20 of the same year.  His priestly ordination took place here at St. Michael’s. During his time in seminary formation, Fr. Reynolds completed a pastoral year at St. Christopher parish, and his deacon internship at St. Cyril of Alexandria, both in Houston. He earned two degrees through the University of St. Thomas: Master of Arts in Theology (M.A.) and Master of Divinity (M.Div.).

After ordination, Fr. Reynolds was assigned as Parochial Vicar at Sacred Heart parish in Conroe (1989-1992) and then at St. Ambrose in Houston (1992-1994). His subsequent appointment to lead the parish of Christ the King in Houston (1994-2001) was his first assignment as Pastor.

Later, he was named pastor of St. Theresa parish in Sugar Land, where he served for fourteen years (2001-2015). While at St. Theresa, the parish established a new parochial school, which is ranked among the top ten classical schools in the country. The parish continues to enjoy a reputation of excellence for its liturgical music program.

In 2015, Fr. Reynolds was asked by Cardinal DiNardo to accept the pastorate at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the largest parish in the Archdiocese. Every weekend, the parish offers ten Sunday Masses in three languages, and is noted for its large number of confessions. While at St. Elizabeth’s, Fr. Reynolds served as mentor to numerous seminarians who were assigned to the parish as summer interns or for a pastoral year.

In addition to his parish assignments, Fr. Reynolds has exercised several other apostolates.

He is the founding chaplain of the Houston chapter of Legatus, an organization of Catholic businessmen; he served for many years as a Spiritual Director for Youth2000, a Eucharistic retreat movement for youth, and gave retreats throughout the United States, in Lourdes, London, and Kampala, Uganda; Fr. Reynolds has served on the Board of Directors of the University of St. Thomas (2014-2020), of Gratia Plena Counseling, and of other organizations. He was for a time the chaplain to the Lay Missionaries of Charity in Houston.

Fr. Reynolds has published homilies in Homiletic and Pastoral Review and wrote a weekly reflection for Catholic Online in 2012-2013. From 2020 until recently, Fr. Reynolds recorded a daily podcast in both English and Spanish for the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton website. For several years, Fr. Reynolds served as an official reviewer of catechetical texts for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

For over twenty-five years, Fr. Reynolds gave retreats at the Sacred Heart Retreat House in Alhambra, CA. He has also given retreats, days of recollection, and spiritual conferences to many groups including priests and seminarians. He directed the canonical retreat for the most recent priestly ordination class of St. Mary Seminary, where he serves as Adjunct Spiritual Director.

Over the years, Fr. Reynolds has been appointed Vicar Forane (Dean), and has served on various Archdiocesan committees and commissions. He has been elected by his peers to serve on the Priest’s Personnel Board and on the Presbyteral Council, on which he currently serves and of which he was chairman from 2022-2024. He is also a member of the Archdiocesan Review Board and of the Archdiocesan Committee for the Ongoing Formation of Priests.

Fr. Reynolds once served as chaplain to the local chapter of the Knights of Malta, and is a member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, the Order of St. Lazarus, and is a Fourth-Degree Knight of Columbus.

He has two brothers and two sisters, twelve nieces and nephews, and three grandnieces. In addition to his native English, Fr. Reynolds speaks Spanish, and when he’s feeling particularly optimistic, a little Italian.