Perez answers call from deported man in Mexico while visiting St. Mary's

ELYRIA — In what will likely be his last visit to the area before becoming the next archbishop to lead the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Bishop Nelson Perez greeted parishioners at St. Mary Church with a Mass celebration and spoke by phone with a local man deported to Mexico more than two years ago. Perez, who has championed a more comprehensive and compassionate approach to immigration, talked briefly with Pedro Hernandez-Ramirez, an Elyria husband and father who was deported in 2017. Shortly after Perez took the helm at the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland, he came to the aid of the Elyria family as it fought to keep Hernandez-Ramirez in the country. Hernandez-Ramirez was reached Friday in Acapulco, Mexico. With a smile on her face, Seleste Wisniewski, Hernandez-Ramirez's wife, spoke about the difficulties of calling internationally to Mexico, but she was able to successfully connect with her husband for a few minutes following Mass. "At least he can hear your voice," Wisniewski said to Perez. Perez spoke on the phone with Hernandez-Ramirez, providing what Wisniewski called a "blessing." "The bishop continues to amaze me and what a blessing it is for my husband to be able to call from Mexico, and the bishop actually get right on the phone and speak to my husband," she said. "A sure blessing he will continue to pray for our family, and eventually prayers will prevail. But, what a blessing." Perez made a compassionate appeal for the Elyria husband and father to stay in the United States, where he had a job, wife, American-born son and three stepchildren, including his 31-year-old disabled stepson, Juan Pino, whom he served as the primary caregiver. After Hernandez-Ramirez was deported, Perez stayed in touch with Wisniewski and her children. Wisniewski said her son, Pino, still holds Hernandez-Ramirez's keys in his hands. The family will travel to Mexico in February for a reunion visit. During their meeting, Perez remarked that Luis Angel, 11, looks like his father and the bishop asked the boy about his schooling. Luis hugged the bishop, with tears in his eyes, as the pair said goodbye. Perez promised he would stay in touch and be only a phone call away. The family extended an invitation to Perez to have dinner at their Elyria home once Hernandez-Ramirez has returned from Mexico, to which the bishop accepted without hesitation. "These goodbyes are not easy for us, but the bishop had spoke to Luis and said that he is only a phone call away. And that for Luis to continue, and for us to continue, praying for him, and he will always keep us in his prayers as well," Wisniewski said. "So it was a positive reinforcement there that we can continue counting on him that no matter where he is at, he is only a phone call away." Perez came to St. Mary to greet members of the congregation as well as to help unveil a historic bell brought back to the parish by the Minnich family, from Catawba, and refurbished by Kevin O'Conner, the head of maintenance at St. Mary. The bell will become part of a time capsule to be unsealed in 2120. He also celebrated Mass alongside Father Charlie Diedrick. Perez will be installed in Philadelphia at a Mass at Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul on Feb. 18. Contact reporter Kristin Bauer at 329-7163 or kbauer@chroniclet.com. Four Videos (Pedro Hernandez-Ramierz deported from U.S.) Previous reporting: Deportation imminent for Lorain Man