Nelson Perez installed as Philadelphia’s archbishop
PHILADELPHIA — As Nelson J. Perez ascended to the archbishop’s throne-like ceremonial chair Tuesday, the thousands gathered in the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul erupted in cheers, whoops and uproarious applause for the new head of the Philadelphia archdiocese.
“The church of Philadelphia receives a new shepherd, Nelson Perez,” retiring Archbishop Charles J. Chaput said as he opened the Mass for Perez’s installation as the 14th Roman Catholic bishop and 10th archbishop of Philadelphia.
“How ’bout that?” Perez said as he began speaking after more than an hour of procession and pageantry. “How ’bout that?”
He preached not from the pulpit but on a step right in front of the pews, opening his arms to the crowd. “I love you. I need you. I can’t do this alone,” he said, addressing Philadelphia Catholics. “This is not about me. This is about us.”
The Mass of Installation, a ceremony rich in pageantry and symbolism, came after the procession of more than 500 cardinals, bishops, priests, deacons and seminarians down 17th Street near the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to the city’s cathedral.
The son of Cuban immigrants, Perez is the first Latino to lead the five-county archdiocese and, at 58, is now the youngest serving archbishop in the United States. His appointment as head of the Philadelphia church represents a homecoming: He was ordained here in the 1980s and served nearly three decades leading local parishes in West Chester and the Olney and Lawncrest sections of the city.
“Bishop Perez, you don’t get to rest. The archdiocese needs you to be a shepherd that goes out to meet the flock with energy, zeal and warmth,” said Christophe Pierre, the Vatican’s top ambassador to the United States, who started off the Mass by thanking Chaput for his service in Philadelphia over the last eight years. “This archdiocese is not the same as when you left it. The growing Latino population will look to you for leadership.”
Perez had earlier walked through the basilica doors with a huge smile, waving as attendees peeked over each other, eager to get a glimpse or a wave. He waved and sprinkled holy water on people as he passed. Many held up their phones to capture photos and videos; some even pumped their fists in the air as he entered.
Relaxed and familiar, Perez drew laughter as he greeted his new archdiocese, thanking other church leaders, his family and his former diocese of Cleveland for “two years and a half of just utter joy.”
His family stood as he pointed them out, saying his mother in Miami had just gotten out of the hospital and could not attend. “I’d like you to say, ‘Hi, Mom!’ and she’s watching on television — say hello to my mom,” Perez said.
And he spoke for a few moments in Spanish: “No puedo creer que he regresado, pero regrese,” he said to applause, saying he could not believe he was back in Philadelphia.
Delivering his first homily in his new role, Perez spoke about hope, addressing an archdiocese that has gone through a difficult period of parish mergers, financial difficulties and sex abuse investigations:
“I gave my life to a faith that believes that a dead man rose from the dead. Yes, I have hope. This is the foundation of our Christian faith,” he said. “This hope that no matter how dark it gets, no matter how much it appears that this is the end, it is not.”
He briefly addressed clergy sex abuse victims, said he was “so deeply sorry to these victims, and we continue to work with hope that we will make it right and be a source for them of healing.”
Perez said he embraces Pope Francis’ vision for the church as “a community of visionary disciples,” but that his plan “is that I have no plan. I hope to listen and visit over time, learn what the church in Philadelphia looks like today.”
He ended with a line he delivers at catechisms, and which he asked everyone to repeat with him: “Never, never, never underestimate the power of the spirit of God working through you, in you, and despite you.”
The event was being livestreamed on the archdiocesan website.
“It’s amazing how he has brought people together already,” said Abel Perez, 19, who was a part of a group gathered to welcome the archbishop, one of hundreds of clergy, parishioners and Catholic school groups in the cathedral and celebrating outside.
Chaput, stepping down after just over eight years at the helm of the 1.3-million-member archdiocese, received a standing ovation. “He was steadfast, and he made decisions that sometimes a father has to make. Decisions that sometimes drew him great suffering and criticism,” Perez said of Chaput in his sermon. “The archdiocese of Philadelphia owes this man an incredible debt of gratitude for who he was, is, and continues to be.”
Chaput’s predecessor, Cardinal Justin Rigali, Bishop Joseph Bambera of the Scranton diocese, Bishop Edward C. Malesic of the Greensburg diocese and Archbishop Roberto Gonzalez Nieves of San Juan, Puerto Rico, were among the many dignitaries in attendance.
One protester outside the church held a sign imploring Perez to investigate clergy sex abuse. Less than half an hour into the Mass, a group of Philadelphia police surrounded the man known as Philly Jesus as he stood off to the side in a white robe. After repeatedly asking him to leave, they took him by the arms and escorted him from the building. He was handcuffed outside the cathedral and given a ticket for trespassing.
Inside, Rosario Lopez, 28, sat in the back of the basilica with her mother and uncle, excited to see their former pastor assume such a prominent role in the church. After the family came to Philadelphia from El Salvador 18 years ago, they said Perez, then a priest at Lawncrest’s Church of St. William, made them feel more welcome.
“We are really happy,” said Lopez, who helped translate for her mother, Maria Inez, and uncle Gerardo Ramirez. “He understands what it is like to be an immigrant. He represents all of our countries.”
In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI tapped Perez to become an auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of Rockville Centre in Long Island, N.Y. Pope Francis named him bishop of Cleveland in 2017.
Fellow priests and former parishioners have described Pérez as a garrulous pastor who forges lasting personal connections with his colleagues and members of his flock. But despite his relatively unassuming demeanor, his appointment as the region’s first Latino archbishop is historic — and his age gives him a potential two-decade runway to leave his mark on the region’s Catholics.
(EDITORS: BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM)
Tuesday’s ceremony will be the third time in eight years that Perez has celebrated an installation Mass for a new assignment. Organizers in Philadelphia have been preparing for the event since his appointment was announced last month.
Perez family and friends welcomed each other warmly with hugs and greetings, some in Spanish, in about 10 rows reserved for them near the front of the Cathedral.
Perez’s cousin, Christine Sesin-Florentino, 39, of Clifton, N.J., and her husband, Robert Florentino, have attended both of Perez previous installations in Rockville Centre and Cleveland. Asked how they compared to the one playing out Tuesday, she responded: “Bigger … There are a whole lot more people here.”
“This is a huge source of gratitude and religious pride for our family,” Sesin-Florentino said. “But on a family level, he’s just the same old funny Nelson. He’s one of our favorite cousins.”
(END OPTIONAL TRIM)
With his installation complete, Perez will inherit day-to-day management of one of the largest Catholic infrastructures in the United States, comprising more than 215 parishes, 460 diocesan priests and a network of universities and schools serving more than 141,000 students.
But his appointment comes at a time of transition for the church. In recent years Roman Catholics in the Philadelphia region have been hit hard by many of the same issues that have plagued the global church: struggling finances, persistent declines in Mass attendance and legal battles over issues such as clergy sex-abuse.
Chaput has said that the archdiocese probably needs only half the number of parishes it currently has but vowed to leave those decisions to his successor. Perez has said he will need time to assess how the archdiocese has changed since he last worked here before making any definitive plans.
No comments:
Post a Comment