Ordaining LI's 1st Latino auxiliary bishop

The first Latino auxiliary bishop in the history of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, who will be installed Wednesday, says he hopes to encourage more Latinos to step into leadership positions in the church.

Bishop-elect Nelson J. Perez, 51, said that for a decade, he headed the Catholic Institute for Evangelization in Philadelphia, which cultivates Latino Catholic leaders. He hopes to bring that background to similar efforts already under way in the Long Island diocese.

"In the experience I've had in church and parish life, the Hispanic community . . . are certainly very present," said Perez, who most recently served in a parish in West Chester, Pa. "You could not have parish life and the vibrancy of a Hispanic community if there weren't leaders."

Perez will be ordained as auxiliary bishop by Bishop William Murphy at St. Agnes Cathedral. Murphy will also ordain Msgr. Robert J. Brennan, 50, as an auxiliary bishop, bringing to four the number of auxiliaries in the nation's fifth-largest diocese.

The auxiliary bishops assist Murphy in his pastoral and spiritual duties, such as overseeing confirmations. Brennan, as does Perez, speaks Spanish, and said he hopes his new position includes a focus on Hispanics, the fastest growing group of Catholics nationwide and locally.

"God has blessed this diocese with good and holy priests and now two new auxiliary bishops, one a native son, the second, a Cuban-American who will bring his many gifts and his Latino language, culture and heritage to enrich this wonderful diocese," Murphy said in a statement this week.

Latinos now account for an estimated 25 percent of Catholics in the diocese, compared with less than 10 percent in the early 1980s, according to Latino Catholic leaders.

Perez will be based on the East End, and said he has visited Long Island a few times since his appointment was announced in early June. He celebrated Mass in Spanish July 13 at St. Hugh of Lincoln in Huntington Station, and said he was warmly received.

Perez said that although he is of Cuban descent -- and Cubans make up just 2 percent of Latinos on Long Island, by census count -- he does not expect to have a problem relating to the diverse Hispanic population here.

It includes Salvadorans, Puerto Ricans, Ecuadoreans, Mexicans and many other groups. He said his parish in West Chester had similar diversity.

"What brings us together is a common language, a common faith," he said. "The Hispanic people are a very welcoming, hospitable people."