Deacon Greg Kandra 

Deacon Greg Kandra is an author, speaker, blogger, and Emmy Award-winning journalist who may be best known as the creator of the popular blog “The Deacon’s Bench.” (www.TheDeaconsBench.com) He served for 11 years as a senior writer and editor for Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA), a pontifical agency founded by Pope Pius XI in 1926.

Before joining CNEWA, Deacon Greg spent nearly three decades in broadcast journalism, most of that time at CBS News, where he was honored with every major award in broadcasting, including three Peabody Awards, three Emmy Awards and four awards from the Writers Guild of America. He contributes a regular syndicated column on scripture to OSV News, which is carried in over 100 Catholic newspapers; in 2024, the column was honored with the First Place Award for Excellence by the Catholic Media Association. Deacon Greg is the author of eight books, including “A Deacon Prays” (Ave Maria Press), which won First Place (Prayer) at the 2022 Catholic Media Book Awards. A popular speaker and retreat leader, Deacon Greg was invited by the Vatican to speak at the international Jubilee for Deacons in 2016. The following year, he became the first deacon to be honored as Clergy of the Year by the Catholic Guild at Our Lady of the Skies Chapel at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City.

Now retired — a term he uses lightly — Deacon Greg serves as a communications consultant and writer for Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers. His writing appears regularly in the devotionals Living Faith and Give Us This Day. In his spare time, you can find him leading pilgrimages around the world.

Deacon Greg was ordained a deacon for the Diocese of Brooklyn in 2007. He and his wife now live in Apopka, Florida, where he serves the Diocese of Orlando.