Philly gets first Hispanic archbishop
Displaying a self-effacing sense of humor and shocked delight at the prospect of returning to the city where he became a priest, Nelson Perez reintroduced himself Thursday to the region’s 1.3 million Catholic faithful as Pope Francis’ pick to become the next archbishop of Philadelphia.
Yet, even as the 58-yearold prelate stood before a crowd of priests, churchgoers, and reporters at the archdiocesan offices, Perez said he was still struggling to accept it was real.
“I’m shocked. It just doesn’t compute,” he said. “In a very real sense -- in a very practical sense -- I’m home . ... Once a Philadelphia priest, always a Philadelphia priest.”
Just hours before, Francis had named Perez, the current bishop of Cleveland, to succeed Archbishop Charles J. Chaput.
As the first Latino chosen to lead the archdiocese and only the third to be named a U.S. archbishop, Perez will be installed at a Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul on Feb. 18. His appointment to replace Chaput, who is stepping down after reaching the clergy customary retirement age of 75, represents a moment of transition for the church both locally and across the United States.
Analysts saw his selection as the latest sign that Francis is attempting to tilt the ideological balance of a historically conservative U.S. church -- epitomized by the outspoken traditionalism of Chaput - and mold it more in line with his papacy, favoring a pastoral approach over a strident focus on divisive cultural issues.
Perez is “not a culture warrior,” said Kathleen Sprows Cummings, a church historian at the
University of Notre Dame, who described him as more on the “moderate and modulating” side. “He hasn’t made those hot-button issues his platform. Picking him is picking someone who hasn’t made that his agenda.”
At the same time, he inherits the leadership of an archdiocese facing challenges that have plagued the broader church: struggling finances, persistent declines in Mass attendance, and legal battles over issues such as sexabuse claims.
But it is at least a community he knows. Born in Miami, raised in northern New Jersey, and ordained at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Perez served as a parish priest for more than two decades in West Chester and the Olney and Lawncrest sections of Philadelphia before being elevated to the church hierarchy as an auxiliary bishop in Long Island, N.Y., in 2012. His return comes two years after Francis dispatched him to lead the Catholic faithful in northeast Ohio.
The son of Cuban migrants who fled Fidel Castro’s government in 1961, Perez grew up in the Cuban enclave of West New York, N.J., and moved to Puerto Rico to teach elementary school in the years before he arrived in Philadelphia and was ordained a priest in 1989.
During his two years in Cleveland, Perez emerged as an outspoken advocate for immigrants, denouncing the Trump administration’s family separation policy and saying the nation had lost its “moral compass.” The bishop also once intervened on behalf of a migrant facing deportation with a personal appeal to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
About a fifth of the Philadelphia region’s Hispanic population, or 61,000 people, identified themselves as Catholics in the 2010 census. Perez will return to a community that has since grown even more.
“The fact that he is Latino is hugely significant,” Cummings said. “That’s where the future of the church is in terms of demographics, and appointing a Cuban American to Philadelphia is bringing it in line with the rest of the church.”
Chaput himself was once heralded for breaking new ground: He was the first Native American bishop appointed in the United States. On Thursday, he stood at Perez’s side during the news conference and said he couldn’t be happier with his replacement.
“I asked for a successor that would care for and guide our people, speak the truth with charity and conviction,” the archbishop said. “He is exactly the man with exactly the abilities that our church needs, and I’m very grateful to Pope Francis for sending him home to us in Philadelphia.”
The two basked in mutual admiration as Perez made quips about his own waistline — “There was about a half hour of my life where I fit in 32-waist pants” -- and his fond remembrances of lunches at Reading Terminal Market. He spoke eagerly of his desire to reconnect with priests he once served alongside.