P\u00e9rez is perhaps not what you would expect from someone who is soon to be a \u201cPrince of the Church\u201d \u2013 it is anticipated that Pope Francis will ultimately elevate him to cardinal. He is funny, easy to talk to and interested in interviewing the interviewer.<\/p>\n
P\u00e9rez was beloved by his flock in Cleveland, where he recently served as bishop, and has earned the warm regard of Philadelphians, who remember his years as a parish priest in the archdiocese and as an educator at La Salle University. In his short time as archbishop, he has already impressed victims of sexual abuse with his compassionate approach to their plaints<\/a> and has co-authored a letter with other Catholic bishops decrying the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on the African-American community<\/a> (P\u00e9rez serves as the chair of the Committee on Cultural Diversity for the U.S. Conference of Bishops).<\/p>\n The middle son of Cuban immigrants, P\u00e9rez grew up mostly in West New York, New Jersey. During his undergraduate years, he drove along Route 3 to what was then Montclair State College, scheduling his classes early three days a week so that he could work nearly full time at Sears Credit Central in Secaucus.<\/p>\n His time at Montclair State and public schools in New Jersey helped mold him in multiple ways.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat it did give me is a broader vision of the secular world,\u201d says P\u00e9rez. \u201cBecause my education and formation was not exclusively within the realm of Catholic schools and Catholic education. That in some ways challenged my faith and made it stronger too.\u201d<\/p>\n After Montclair State, Perez spent time teaching high school in Puerto Rico \u2013 \u201cdiscerning religious life\u201d \u2013 before entering the seminary and later transferring to St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia where he earned a Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Theology.<\/p>\n<\/div> \u201cThen the Archdiocese of Philadelphia actually recruited me. They didn\u2019t have a lot of Spanish-speaking priests,\u201d says P\u00e9rez.<\/p>\n Indeed, P\u00e9rez is one of only three Hispanic archbishops in the U.S.<\/a> and the first Hispanic to lead the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. His bilingual skills have helped endear him to Pope Francis, a native of Argentina who was archbishop of Buenos Aires before his election to pontiff.<\/p>\n Although P\u00e9rez\u2019s parents and his brothers (both of whom are also Montclair State alumni) eventually moved to the Miami area, he reports that many of his cousins stayed in northern New Jersey and that he was back to visit the campus about five years ago.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really changed!\u201d he notes.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, P\u00e9rez has been occupied with shepherding five counties of Catholics through a public health crisis with major socioeconomic, racial and cultural impacts.<\/p>\n \u201cThis moment with COVID, we will get through it. We are not done yet. It has brought upon all of us an opportunity to reevaluate what are the things that are important? The things we didn\u2019t appreciate? That we took for granted? All of sudden our routines are taken away. People are saying, \u2018We can\u2019t wait to go to work.\u2019 Families have reconnected. I think people have also reconnected with their faith.\u201d<\/p>\n Nonetheless, P\u00e9rez says, we all crave human connection and a return to normalcy. \u201cPeople have asked me, \u2018Do you think this is the way we are going to go to church?\u2019 No. That\u2019s like having dinner on Zoom. It\u2019s not the way human beings are nailed together. We are physical people. And you hear it in families. Families are saying, \u2018We want a hug. We want to hold hands.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n He also shared a message for today\u2019s students:<\/p>\n \u201cYou are a gift to the world. When Pope Francis speaks about young people he doesn\u2019t call you the future. He calls you \u2018the now of God,\u2019\u201d says P\u00e9rez.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd your education, these years that you are spending at Montclair State University, is really important because it\u2019s laying down the foundation by which you are going to serve the world around you. That ultimately what you do with the formation and education that you get at Montclair State is not just about you. It\u2019s about the world that you are going to help to make a better place.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNever underestimate the gift that you are to the people around you.\u201d<\/p>\n P\u00e9rez was interviewed before the advent of widespread protests spurred by the death of George Floyd while in police custody. P\u00e9rez co-signed a letter with other bishops condemning the killing, held a press conference<\/a>, and released his own statement <\/a>to Philadelphians, stating in part: \u201cRacial hatred has no place in our world, including here in the United States, or in the hearts of people. Every life is a precious gift from God. Racism is a mortal sin and an attack on that gift. All of us share a responsibility to bring an end to this evil and to do so in a way that seeks justice and peace. The perpetual cycle of pain and anguish must end.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Story by Staff Writer Mary Barr Mann<\/a><\/p>\n![\"photo](\"\/responsive-media\/cache\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2020\/06\/Bishop-Nelson-J.-Perez.jpeg.0.1x.generic.jpg\")