Father Gus recalls longtime friendship with Archbishop-elect Nelson Perez
NORRISTOWN >> “Welcome home, Nelson.”
The Rev. Gus Puleo had texted those words to the new leader of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Thursday morning.
Not surprisingly, moments after Thursday’s televised news conference introducing former Archdiocese of Philadelphia priest Nelson Perez as the new Archbishop, Puleo’s enthusiasm was palpable on the phone.
“I’m so excited that he’s going to be our archbishop. It’s an excellent choice for us. I got a number of phone calls this morning and people are just ecstatic about it. He came off wonderfully at the news conference,” noted the pastor of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Norristown, who recalled his longtime friendship with Archbishop Charles Chaput’s successor.
“He’s been a very big part of my priesthood. In 2004 and 2005 I was a deacon at St. William’s parish in Northeast Philly, and I lived with Bishop Nelson Perez,” Puleo said. “He taught me how to be a priest, taught me how to be a pastor. At the end of the academic year I was ordained, in May 2005, on a Saturday. On Sunday we had our first Mass and I asked Nelson to preach my first Mass. So I know him very well.”
According to the archdiocese, Bishop Perez, 58, was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 1989. Father Perez’s first assignment after ordination to the priesthood was as parochial vicar of Saint Ambrose Parish, Philadelphia (1989-1993). He also served as assistant director of the Office for Hispanic Catholics (1990-1993), founding director of the Catholic Institute for Evangelization (1993-2002), Pastor of Saint William Parish, Philadelphia (2002-2009), and Pastor of Saint Agnes Parish, West Chester (20092012). His work in education included teaching courses in psychology and religious studies at LaSalle University, Philadelphia (1994-2008). Father Perez also taught Developmental Psychology at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary (fall, 2011), in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. In 1998, he was named Chaplain to His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, with the title of Monsignor. In 2009, he was named a Prelate of Honor by Pope Benedict XVI. In July 2017, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Perez to serve as the 11th Bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland.
Perez’s appointment as the regions’s first Hispanic archbishop marks a homecoming of sorts for the Florida native, Puleo said.
“He was educated here, went to St. Charles Seminary, he’s been a priest in the Archdiocese. He was made a bishop at Rockville Center, so of course I went to his ordination there, and then he was sent to Ohio. And I’ll be going to his ordination in Philadelphia in February.”
Archbishop-elect Perez’s Mass of Installation will take place on Tuesday, February 18, 2020 at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul at 2 p.m.
Concerning Perez’s comments that he was a bit worried about “filling Archbishop’s Chaput’s shoes,” Puleo noted, “I don’t think that will be a problem. In a way, he’s one of us. He’s really a Philadelphia priest. He knows all of us, we all know him and love him. He knows the Archdiocese very well. He loves the church and Philly, and the people love him. It’s a new era for the church.”
Archbishop Chaput, who had headed the Philadelphia Archdiocese since 2011, turned 75 last September, the age at which canon law requires bishops to resign.
“As I get older I understand (the mandatory retirement age),” Puleo said, laughing. “I’m 67 and everyone I know is retired. So, in a way I understand it. It’s a huge job. But God bless him ... with the grace of God he’ll do fine.”
The appointment of bishops in the Catholic Church can be an intricate process, Puleo allowed.
“First of all, the church says it’s guided by the Holy Spirit, because each one of these bishops is like an apostle,” he said. “The Pope is given a list of names and from that list one is chosen. We don’t know the names that were given, but Bishop Perez must have been one of them. Nelson’s been a bishop for a number of years now and I know that he’s been to the Vatican a number of times and has met the Pope and spoken to him.”
Perez’s influence will be far-reaching and will no doubt touch lives at St. Patrick’s in Norristown, Puleo noted.
“Yes, definitely, because he speaks Spanish. And he’s very involved with the community. He done the Hispanic Mass and has done a Puerto Rican Mass, so he’s already well integrated into the community. I’m sure he’ll come to St. Pat’s and I strongly believe that he’ll be great for uniting the church.”