ASHLAND —  Born in Miami, raised in New Jersey and a teacher in Puerto Rico — Bishop Nelson J. Perez has come a long way and is now stationed at the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland.

Experience is one of the major factors that has helped mold Bishop Nelson into the man he is today.

“I’ve been around a little bit. Not my first rodeo. I’ve been blessed with many different ministerial experiences,” Nelson said. “There’s almost nothing in the church, in some way, shape or form, that I’ve haven’t done. Chaplaincy work in hospitals, yep, nursing homes, prisons, taught at the elementary school level, at the university level, was an auxiliary bishop, was a pastor; I’m so blessed with a richness of experiences.”

On Tuesday, Perez came down from Cleveland for a 10 a.m. mass, followed by a tour of the school and lunch with the students of St. Edward.

“We really appreciate him coming down and having mass with the kids,” St. Edward principal Sue Valentine said.

The visit gave local residents, parishioners and schoolchildren a chance to connect with a high-level member and representative of the church.

“It’s important to remind ourselves that we are part of the greater church. It’s wonderful to have someone come down,” said the Rev. Rod Kreidler, of St. Edward.

Moving to Cleveland, Perez had some concerns about being buried in snow every winter but has been pleasantly surprised by the lighter winters and the communities he’s visited.

“People here are very welcoming, very warm. They’ve made it very, very easy for me,” Perez said. “I’ve been (to Ashland) two or three times. It’s wonderful. Look at the reception here and the warmth of the kids and their parents. I love the kids doing the sign language (at church); that was so beautiful.”

After graduating high school, Perez stayed in New Jersey and attended Montclair State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. He felt that education would give him a better understanding of how to help people, and continued his education receiving a Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in theology in 1988 and ’89 from Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia.

“We are beings that are psychological and physical and spiritual and social; we are the totality of all these things put together,” Perez said. “My background in psychology and clinical psychology has given me great insight into helping people and helping systems — going behind the surface of things.”

But simply having the training wouldn’t have been good enough — the key was to actually learn on the ground level so one could see both sides.

“There was a time when many bishops weren’t even pastors. I understand being a pastor, having a school. I understand not because I read some article, but because I lived it,” Perez said.

In his 29th year as a priest, Perez remains excited and optimistic about his new station in northeast Ohio and about all the human interactions that he will experience.