Nelson Jesus Perez
NELSON JESUS PEREZ
Born: June 16, 1961
Deceased:
Auxiliary Bishop of Rockville Centre, 2012-2017
Bishop of Cleveland, 2017-2020
Archbishop of Philadelphia (2020-present
 Auxiliary Bishop of Rockville Centre |
 Bishop of Cleveland |
 Archbishop of Philadelphia |
| English | blazon wanted |
Azure, a fess sable fimbriated argent charged with an Agnus Dei Or supporting a palm frond of the last and a vexillium proper, with in chief a mullet argent, and in base seven piles Or conjoined in point surmounted by a bezant issuant from the base.
Origin/meaning
As common in US episcopal heraldry, the arms show the arms of the diocese impaled with the personal arms of the bishop.
The blue refers to the morning sky. At the base of the shield is seen a rising Sun, to represent Christ the Savior, "the dawn from on high" (Luke 1:78). This depiction of the rising Sun also recalls the coat of arms of the Republic of Cuba, adopted in 1906, which bears a rising Sun in the upper part of the shield or chief. Bishop Perez's parents emigrated from Cuba to the United States a few months before his birth.
The silver five-pointed star in chief depicts the Morning Star, which appears on the eastern horizon each day in the hours before dawn. It has long been a symbol of Our Lady, whose own Immaculate Conception heralded the birth of the coming Messias, and who, as his most perfect disciple, always points the way to Christ. A white star in the same position appears in the arms of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, where Bishop Perez served as a priest for 23 years.
Another reference to the arms of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is the black bar; bordered in white. On this bar appears a Paschal Lamb in gold; the colors used recall the coat of arms of an (unrelated) Perez family in Cuba, whose shield depicts five black wolves on a gold shield. The lamb, representing Jesus the Lamb of God (cf. John 1:36; Revelation 5:6, etc.) looks back over his shoulder, to lead those who will follow his example and to "guide them to springs of the water of life" (Revelation 7:17).
The lamb on Bishop Perez's shield also recalls Saint Agnes, the twelve-year-old Roman martyr who was killed in 304. (The saint's name sounds like the Latin word agnus, which means "lamb.") Saint Agnes is the patroness of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, for which Bishop Perez was an auxiliary bishop, and a lamb's head, painted gold, appears on the arms of the Diocese. She is also the patroness of the parish in West Chester, Pennsylvania, where the Bishop was serving as pastor at the time of his appointment.
The motto "Confide et spera" means "trust and hope" - words that recall and summarize many exhortations of Scripture to "trust in the Lord" and to find peace by placing every need and worry in the hands of the One for whom all things work for good (Jeremiah 17:7; cf. Psalm 37:7; Romans 8:28; Philippians 4:4-7; 1 Peter 5:7). Our Lady, Mother of Holy Hope (Roman Miss al), is a model for every disciple , and teaches her children to place confident trust in her Son.
The achievement is completed with the heraldic insignia of a prelate of the rank of bishop by instruction of the Holy See, of March 1969, confirmed in March 2001.
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