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

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

who served as an

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

for the

Archdiocese of Chicago The Archdiocese of Chicago () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church located in Northeastern Illinois, in the United States. The Vatican erected it as a diocese in 1843 and elevated it to an ar ...

from 1998 to 2023. Perry is a past vice-president of the board of the

National Black Catholic Congress The National Black Catholic Congress (NBCC) is a Black Catholic advocacy group and quinquennial conference in the United States. It is a spiritual successor to Daniel Rudd's Colored Catholic Congress movement of the late 19th and early 20th cen ...

, 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 2001 after the merger of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Co ...

(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 Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite or ''usus antiquior'' (), Vetus Ordo or the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) or the Traditional Rite, is the liturgy in the Roman Missal of the Catholic Church codified in 1 ...

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

Biography

Early life and education

A native of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Joseph Perry was born on April 18, 1948. He 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 Crown Point is a city in and the county seat of Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 34,884 per the 2023 American Community Survey. The city was incorporated in 1868. On October 31, 1834, Solon Robinson and his family became ...

where he studied through 1971. He then attended Saint Joseph's College in

Rensselaer, Indiana Rensselaer is a city located along the Iroquois River (Indiana-Illinois), Iroquois River in Marion Township, Jasper County, Indiana, Marion Township, Jasper County, Indiana, Jasper County, Indiana, United States. The population was 5,733 at the 2 ...

, receiving a

Bachelor of Philosophy Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; or or ) is the title of an academic degree in philosophy that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's degrees, the ...

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 ...

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 () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in southeast Wisconsin in the United States. The Archdiocese of Milwaukee is the Metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropolitan s ...

. After his ordination, he was assigned as

associate pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicis ...

at St. Nicholas Parish in Milwaukee. In 1976, Perry was appointed to the archdiocesan

tribunal A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a singl ...

. Between 1979 and 1981, Perry attended the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

in Washington, D.C., obtaining a

Licentiate of Canon Law Licentiate of Canon Law (; JCL) is the title of an advanced graduate degree with canonical effects in the Roman Catholic Church offered by pontifical universities and ecclesiastical faculties of canon law. Licentiate is the title of a person who ...

. 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. 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 Marquette University Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is one of two law schools in Wisconsin and the only private law school in the state. Founded in 1892 as the Mil ...

in Milwaukee 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 (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

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; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

. He was consecrated on June 29, 1998 by Cardinal

Francis George Francis Eugene George (January 16, 1937 – April 17, 2015) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the eighth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago in Illinois (1997–2014) and previously served as bishop of the Dio ...

. He was then appointed the

episcopal vicar Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United States ...

for Vicariate VI of the archdiocese.

Membership and appointments

In 2010, 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 Catholic Church. The qualifications, role and function of the postulator are spelled out in the ''Norms to be Observed i ...

for the sainthood cause of Father

Augustus Tolton John Augustus Tolton (baptized Augustine; April 1, 1854 – July 9, 1897) was an African Americans, African American who served as the first Black Catholicism, Black Catholic priest in the United States, ordained in Rome in 1886. He was preceded ...

, a former slave who became the first known African-American priest in the Catholic Church. Perry served as 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 Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

(CLSA). In 1998, he sat on the board of advisors of

Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary was an American seminary preparatory school administered by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago for Single-sex education, young men considering the Priesthood (Catholic Church), priesthood. It closed ...

in Chicago. In addition, he served as an episcopal liaison for catechetics and Liturgical Training Publications (LTP) of the archdiocese, and as a judge on the Ecclesiastical Court of Appeals for all the Illinois dioceses.

Resignation

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

accepted Perry's resignation on September 19, 2023. Perry had submitted his resignation to the pope when he turned age 75, the

mandatory retirement Mandatory retirement also known as forced retirement, enforced retirement or compulsory retirement, is the set age at which people who hold certain jobs or offices are required by industry custom or by law to leave their employment, or retire. A ...

age for bishops.

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