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New Orleans Auxiliary Bishop Harold R. Perry, who died in 1991, was ordained to the priesthood 70 years ago on Jan. 6, 1944. The following is an excerpt from “Diary of an Unapologetic Roman Catholic Priest,” by Father R. Tony Ricard, published by Two Knights Publishing Co.
Dear Bishop Harold Robert Perry, My Pastor,
You were born in Lake Charles, La., to Frank and Josephine Perry on Oct. 9, 1916. Your father worked in the rice mills while your mother toiled as a domestic cook. They worked together to provide a loving Catholic home for you and your five siblings. Although the broader community looked upon you and your siblings as inferior because you were of African descent, your parents never allowed you to use your race as a reason “not to strive” for greatness.
Back in the 1920s and 1930s, much of our nation was divided along color lines. In the hearts and minds of many, people of color were considered less significant than folks from the dominant cultures. Some even believed that African Americans were created by God for the sole purpose of serving others.
Even the Holy Roman Catholic Church was segregated by race. They used to force African Americans to either sit in the back pews of the church or to attend churches that only ministered to people of color. It is hard for me to imagine the many hardships that you had to face simply because you were “colored.”
At the age of 13, you decided to answer God’s call and pursue a vocation to the priesthood. After entering the Society of the Divine Word, your love for God blossomed and your zeal for the church brought many to the faith.
Following your ordination to the priesthood on Jan. 6, 1944, you served as pastor of a few parishes. In 1964, you became the provincial superior of the Southern Province of the Divine Word Society in the United States. That same year, you also became the first African-American clergyman to deliver the opening prayer in United States Congress.
On Sept. 29, 1965, Pope Paul VI appointed you as the auxiliary bishop of New Orleans. Your episcopal ordination on Jan. 6, 1966, made you the first African-American bishop in modern times. Your ordination forever changed the face of the Catholic hierarchy in the United States.
In 1975, you were appointed as the pastor of my childhood parish – Our Lady of Lourdes in New Orleans. I was so excited to meet “the bishop.” Little did I know the impact that your life and ministry would have on my life. You were my model of faith and courage.
Bishop, you are my model of a true priest. Much of what I do is a reflection of you. I strive to be the kind of priest that would make you proud.
Although we had many conversations in my early years, our most memorable exchange took place on Sunday, Dec. 1, 1985. It was then that I formally interviewed you about your life and your ministry. By that time, you were suffering from the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s disease. I prayed that you would be in a “remembering mood” when I called you. I thank God that you were.
Through that interview, I realized the courage it took for you to accept your appointment as the first black bishop in the 20th century. You knew that you were going to be used by God to open the doors of the episcopacy to other men of color.
As the only black bishop, you faced a lot of racial hatred in your early years. But, you handled it with the love of Christ. In discussing the racism that you faced, you said, “If I would have reacted with anger and spoke without holiness, it would have taken many years for another black to become bishop. I was the trailblazer, sent as a trial.”
Bishop, God truly used you to cut a pathway of justice through the tangled webs of inequality and the fight for civil rights. In summing up your life, you said, “When through one man, a little more love, a little more goodness, a little more light and a little more truth comes into the world, then the man’s life has meaning.”
Back in January 1991, the Archdiocese of New Orleans gathered to celebrate the 25th anniversary of your ordination as a bishop. It was at that celebration that I spoke with you for the last time.
By then, your mind was trapped by Alzheimer’s, and I wondered if you would recognize me. When I approached you, I simply said, “Bishop, my name is Tony and you were my pastor for almost 10 years.”
I went on to tell you that I was a new seminarian and that you were one of the reasons why I decided to enter the seminary. You smiled and simply said, “And so, you remember me.”
From that final encounter, I walked away realizing just how important it was to you that folk never forget the life and ministry that you were blessed to live. Today, I am a part of your legacy, and I promise you that as long as I live, you will never be forgotten.
May your soul and all the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace.
Sincerely,
Rev. R. Tony Ricard,
M. Th.,M. Div.
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