Brazilian archbishop who resigned at 62 to lead new diocese

January 02, 2026

In a highly unusual decision, Pope Leo XIV yesterday appointed a Brazilian archbishop who resigned in 2019 to lead a new diocese.

Born in Brazil in 1957, Archbishop Luís Gonzaga Silva Pepeu, OFM Cap, made his religious profession in the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin in 1978 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1982. He received his licentiate in canon law from the Catholic University of America and his doctorate in canon law from the Angelicum.

Pope St. John Paul II appointed Pepeu bishop of Afogados da Ingazeira, Brazil, in 2001. Seven years later, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him archbishop of Vitória da Conquista.

Archbishop Pepeu resigned in 2019, when he was only 62. The prelate said at the time that he was resigning “in a spirit of faith and with Franciscan humility.” A Brazilian radio station reported that no reason was given for his resignation and that the archbishop had undergone successful hernia surgery four months earlier.

Archbishop Pepeu subsequently became vicar general of the Archdiocese of Olinda and Recife, which is located 750 miles away the archdiocese he formerly led. He also presided over the archdiocese’s ecclesiastical court.

On January 1, Pope Leo created the Diocese of Baturité from territory of the Archdiocese of Fortaleza and named Archbishop Pepeu the first bishop of the new diocese. The Holy See Press Office’s announcement stated that Pepeu is retaining the personal title of archbishop.

 

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Further information:

• Rinunce e nomine, 01.01.2026 (Holy See Press Office)
• Arcebispo de Vitória da Conquista, Dom Luís Gonzaga Pepeu, renuncia (TV Canção Nova, 10/9/19)
• Dom Luis Pepeu, terceiro bispo Diocesano de Afogados tem renúncia aceita pelo Papa (Rádio Pajeú, 10/9/19)