New Bishop Appointed To Lead Cleveland Catholics

CLEVELAND, OH — Catholics in Cleveland have a new community leader. Pope Francis appointed Nelson J. Perez Bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland on Tuesday. Perez was previously Auxiliary Bishop in Rockville Centre, New York.

Perez becomes the 11th bishop for the Diocese, replacing Bishop Richard Lennon, who retired late in 2016 after he was diagnosed with dementia. A ceremony introducing Perez to the Cleveland community will be held at 9 a.m. on Tuesday. (To stay up to date on local stories, subscribe to the Patch Cleveland newsletter. As news breaks and the story develops, you will be the first to receive updates from Patch.)

“I am so very happy to be here with you, to learn from you, grow with you, and serve you with pastoral devotion,” said Bishop-designate Perez in a statement. “Please don’t hesitate to say hello, if you see me as I venture out, eager to experience my new home. God bless you, all!”

Cleveland's Catholic community includes about 677,219 people, according to the Diocese.

Perez was born in 1961 in Miami, Florida. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Montclair State University in 1983. He then taught at Colegio la Piedad, a Catholic elementary school in Puerto Rico before joining the St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, where he earned his Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Theology degrees.

Perez was ordained as a priest in 1989 in Philadelphia. Charles Chaput, Archbishop of Philadelphia, said Perez brought a keen focus on ministry to Hispanic Catholics in the area before he became Auxiliary Bishop for the Diocese of Rockville Centre in 2012.

"His wide-ranging pastoral and administrative experience among diverse communities makes him well prepared to shepherd a diocese of his own," Chaput said in a statement. "I’m confident that Bishop Perez will carry on the work of his predecessors with great energy, compassion, zeal, and fidelity."

In 1998 he was named a chaplain to Pope John Paul II and Prelate of Honor in 2009, by Pope Benedict XVI.

In 2012, Perez was named Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre and received Episcopal Ordination on June 25, 2012.

“In Bishop Nelson Perez, the Diocese of Cleveland is receiving a faithful, enthusiastic and joyful shepherd for Christ and His Church,” remarked Bishop Daniel Thomas of Toledo in a statement. “With his warm personality, Bishop Perez will endear himself to all who meet him. Bishop Perez will find in Cleveland a true spiritual home filled with dedicated and devoted people, a family of faith that I am grateful to have had the privilege to serve. I personally look forward to working with Bishop Perez in announcing the Gospel in Northern Ohio.”

Photo from Diocese of Cleveland