In 1967, Perry entered the Capuchin Seminary of St. Mary in
St. Francis Seminary in St. Francis, Wisconsin, receiving a Master of Divinity
degree in 1975.
Ordination and ministry
On May 24, 1975, Perry was ordained a priest by Archbishop
associate pastor at St. Nicholas Parish in Milwaukee. In 1976, Perry was appointed to the archdiocesan tribunal. Between 1979 and 1981, Perry attended Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., obtaining a Licentiate of Canon Law. 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.[9]
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 in Milwaukee and in 1997 at Mundelein Seminary in Mundelein, Illinois.[9]
Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago
On May 5, 1998,
episcopal vicar for Vicariate VI of the archdiocese.[8][9]
Membership and appointments
In 2010, George named Perry as the diocesan postulator for the sainthood cause of Father Augustus Tolton, a former slave who became the first known African-American priest in the Catholic Church.[10]
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.[9]
Since 1977, Perry has been a member of the Canon Law Society of America (CLSA). In 1998, he sat on the board of advisors of Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary 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.[9]
Resignation
Pope Francis accepted Perry's resignation on September 19, 2023. Perry had submitted his resignation to the pope when he turned age 75, the mandatory retirement age for bishops.[11]