After holding several priestly duties, he was appointed a secretary of bishop Petar Čule of Mostar-Duvno and Trebinje-Mrkan.
Čule's successor Pavao Žanić also named him general vicar in 1980, a post he retained until his appointment as the bishop of Kotor in 1981.
Perić was born in Donji Jasenjani near Mostar in the parish of Bijelo Polje, at the time part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, to a family with nine children – four brothers and five sisters.
[1] On 29 April 1981, Perić was appointed by Pope John Paul II to become the first bishop of Kotor after the vacancy of over 30 years.
[1] Perić's capital work is Hercegovačka afera (Herzegovina Affair), complied between 1965 and 1977, and published posthumously in 2002.