Joseph Nathaniel Perry (born April 18, 1948) is an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

who has been serving as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Chicago since 1998 Perry is a past vice-president of the board of the National Black Catholic Congress, and chairman of the

US Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (US ...

(USCCB) Subcommittee on African-American Affairs. He is also a supporter and celebrant of the

Traditional Latin Mass The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass or Traditional Rite, is the liturgy of Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church that appears in typical editions of the Roman Missal published from 1570 to 1962. Celebrated almo ...

, and has celebrated pontifical high masses, ordinations, and confirmations according to the traditional rite.

Biography

Early life and education

A native of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Joseph Perry attended various Catholic elementary schools in Chicago between 1954 and 1962. In 1963, he attended Carver High School in Chicago for one year before transferring to St. Lawrence Seminary High School in Mt. Calvary, Wisconsin. In 1967, Perry entered the Capuchin Seminary of St. Mary in Crown Point, Indiana where he studied through 1971. He then attended Saint Joseph's College in

Rensselaer, Indiana Rensselaer is a city located along the Iroquois River in Marion Township, Jasper County, Indiana, United States. The population was 5,859 at the 2010 census, up from 5,294 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Jasper County. Saint ...

, receiving a Bachelor of Philosophy degree and a Bachelor of Theology degree. Perry then entered St. Francis Seminary in St. Francis, Wisconsin, receiving a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and divi ...

degree in 1975.

Ordination and ministry

On May 24, 1975, Perry was ordained a priest by Archbishop William Cousins for the

Archdiocese of Milwaukee The Archdiocese of Milwaukee ( la, Archidiœcesis Milvauchiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the United States. It encompasses the City of Milwaukee, a ...

. After his ordination, he was assigned as

associate pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

at St. Nicholas Parish in Milwaukee. In 1976, Perry was appointed to the archdiocesan tribunal. Between 1979 and 1981, Perry attended

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

, obtaining a Licentiate of Canon Law. After receiving his licentiate, Perry returned to the tribunal, where he was appointed chief judicial officer in 1983. At the same time, he started teaching canon law at Sacred Heart School of Theology in

Hales Corners, Wisconsin Hales Corners is a village in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 7,692 at the 2010 census. History The land in the area that would eventually encompass the Village was first claimed as French, then British, and even ...

. In 1995, Perry permanently left the tribunal to return to pastoral work with an assignment as pastor of All Saints Parish in Milwaukee. In 1996. he began teaching canon law at Marquette University Law School and in 1997 at Mundelein Seminary in Mundelein, Illinois.

Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago

On May 5, 1998,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

appointed Perry as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago and the

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

Lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

. He was consecrated on June 29, 1998 by Cardinal Francis George. He was then appointed the episcopal vicar for Vicariate VI of the archdiocese.

Membership and appointments

In 2010, Cardinal Francis George named Perry as the diocesan

postulator A postulator is the person who guides a cause for beatification or canonization through the judicial processes required by the Roman Catholic Church. The qualifications, role and function of the postulator are spelled out in the ''Norms to be Obse ...

for the sainthood cause of Father Augustus Tolton, a former slave who became the first known African-American priest in the Catholic church. Perry is chair of the USCCB Committee on African American Catholics. He has also served on several other USCCB committees, including those for Education, Home Missions; the Ad Hoc Committee on Catholics' Use of Holy Scripture; the Secretariat for Family, Laity, Women and Youth; and the Ad Hoc Committee for a Plenary Council, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the subcommittee for the Defense of Marriage and the subcommittee for Migrants, Refugees and Travelers. Since 1977, Perry has been a member of the

Canon Law Society of America The Canon Law Society of America or CLSA is a professional association dedicated to the promotion of both the study and the application of canon law in the Catholic Church. The Society's membership includes over fifteen hundred men and women who ...

(CLSA). In 1998, he sat on the Board of Advisors of Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago. In addition, he is an episcopal liaison for

Catechetics Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the ...

and Liturgical Training Publications (LTP) of the archdiocese, and is a judge sitting on the Ecclesiastical Court of Appeals for the dioceses in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

References

External links

Biography from the Archdiocese of Chicago

Biography from the National Black Catholic Congress

National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Joseph 1948 births Living people 21st-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago Christianity in Chicago Clergy from Chicago Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee Sacred Heart School of Theology alumni Saint Joseph's College (Indiana) alumni St. Francis Seminary (Wisconsin) alumni Marquette University faculty University of St. Mary of the Lake faculty African-American Roman Catholic bishops Religious leaders from Illinois Religious leaders from Milwaukee Catholics from Illinois 20th-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people