Bishop Nelson Perez headed to Medina County the morning of Feb. 23 to visit Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Wadsworth where he spoke to students, celebrated a school Mass, toured the new rectory and parish center, visited the school and enjoyed lunch with some of the teachers and staff.
His hosts were Bill Adams, Sacred Heart principal; Father Joe Labak, Sacred Heart pastor; and Father Pat Spicer, parochial vicar.
The bishop was the speaker at this week?s Breakfast of Champions, which takes place on Fridays during Lent. Sixth- through eighth-graders heard Bishop Perez share stories from his life. He talked about his family?s immigration from Cuba several months before his birth. His father, who was a prominent banker in Cuba, was advised by some of his clients to leave the country as the communist regime of Fidel Castro took hold.
?My parents left Cuba on a ?vacation? with my older brother. They left their house and everything and never returned,? he said. For time, they lived in a refugee camp in Miami, Florida that was run by Catholic Charities. After his father got a job in New Jersey, the family moved there, which is where the bishop grew up.
?I was made in Cuba and hatched in Miami,? he quipped, noting that his mother was pregnant with him when his family left Cuba.
After finishing grade school, high school and college, the bishop moved to Puerto Rico where he worked and discerned a call to the priesthood with the Salesians. He had hoped to return to Cuba as a Salesian missionary.
?Even as a child I was fascinated by what was going on at the altar,? he said.
He was accepted in the seminary at mid-term in January, and worked during the day. A few months later, he was called to the rector?s office and informed they wanted to send him to study theology. He pointed to Philadelphia on a map
