In the summer of 2017, Bishop Nelson J. Perez was appointed as the 11th bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland by Pope Francis and was installed on September 5, 2017. Nelson J. Perez was born in Miami, Florida on June 16, 1961 to David and Emma Perez and is the brother of the late Dr. David Perez and Louis Martin Perez. He was raised in West New York, NJ. Bishop Perez earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from Montclair State University in 1983. He taught at Colegio la Piedad, a Catholic elementary school in Puerto Rico, prior to entering Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, where he earned Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Theology degrees in 1988 and 1989, respectively, and was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 1989. 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. Pope Benedict XVI appointed Reverend Monsignor Nelson J. Perez Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre in New York on June 8, 2012. He was ordained a bishop on July 25, 2012 in Saint Agnes Cathedral, Rockville Centre, NY by Bishop William F. Murphy. As a part of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Perez serves as Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church.