 At both institutions, Bishop Holley excelled at basketball and participated in student government.Holley undertook post-graduate studies at the Theological College at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and St. Vincent de Paul Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida, where he earned a Master of Divinity degree.He was ordained to the priesthood on May 8, 1987, at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Pensacola, Florida.