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Rafael Valdez Torres

Bishop of Ensenada
Bishop
1959
—
Ordained
—
Consecrated Bishop
Ensenada
Diocese
Mexico
Country
The Life

Rafael Valdez Torres was born on 4 November 1959 in Santiago Tangamandapio, Michoacán, and was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Zamora on 9 February 1985 in the Cathedral of Zamora. He studied at the minor and major seminaries of Zamora and took a licentiate in philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

In Zamora he served as vicario colaborador at San Pedro Apóstol in Venustiano Carranza, as prefect of studies and professor of philosophy at the diocesan seminary, as parish priest of San Antonio in Ocampo from 1991 to 1996 and of Cristo Rey in Jacona from 1996 to 2004, concurrently vicario de pastoral, as ecónomo of the diocesan Mutual Sacerdotal from 1988, and from 2004 as rector of the Santuario Señor de los Milagros at Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro and parish priest of San Juan Nuevo.

Pope Francis appointed him Bishop of Ensenada on 21 May 2013, after the see had been without a bishop for ten months following the transfer of Sigifredo Noriega Barceló to Zacatecas; he was the second Bishop of Ensenada. He received episcopal ordination on 31 July 2013 in Ensenada from Nuncio Christophe Pierre.

As Bishop of Ensenada he blessed and consecrated the diocesan seminary, dedicated to St Rafael Guízar y Valencia, at ex Ejido Chapultepec, and on 29 May 2020 he constituted the Diocesan Commission for the Protection of Minors (Prot. No. 89/2020).

Major Works & Initiatives
Decreto: Se constituye la Comisión Diocesana de Protección de Menores
Decree constituting the Diocesan Commission for the Protection of Minors, Ensenada, 29 May 2020, Prot. No. 89/2020, signed by Valdez Torres. The CEM-hosted PDF is OCR-garbled in places, but subject, date, protocol number, and signature are legible.
The Old Mass, See by See
Ensenada2013-07-31 – presentNo act of his own
What he inheritedNo provision for the 1962 Missal inherited from Sigifredo Noriega Barcelo is established in the record; Noriega Barcelo was transferred to Zacatecas before the Traditionis custodes window.
Since the SSPX decree of 2 July 2026: No statement recorded as of 2026-10-28.
Reviewed 2026-10-28Confidence: medium
Domus Dei’s Verdict
The Bishop & the Mass of Ages
No governing act of his own found
References & Further Reading
1.
El Papa nombra un nuevo obispo para México — ACI Prensa · 2013Appointment 21 May 2013; born 4 November 1959, Santiago Tangamandapio; priestly ordination 9 February 1985, Zamora; licentiate in philosophy, Gregorian; Zamora offices.
2.
Bienvenida — Archdiocese of Tijuana · 2013Episcopal ordination 31 July 2013 in Ensenada by Nuncio Christophe Pierre.
3.
El Arzobispo se alegra con el nombramiento del nuevo obispo de la Diócesis de Ensenada — Archdiocese of Tijuana · 2013See vacant ten months after Sigifredo Noriega Barceló's transfer to Zacatecas; Valdez Torres a priest of Zamora with postgraduate philosophy from the Gregorian.
4.
Boletín 2013-7-2 — Archdiocese of Guadalajara · 201321 May 2013 entry: Valdez Torres chosen Bishop of Ensenada.
5.
Decreto_CDPM_Ensenada — Rafael Valdez Torres · Conferencia del Episcopado Mexicano · 2020Decree constituting the Diocesan Commission for the Protection of Minors, Ensenada, 29 May 2020, Prot. No. 89/2020.
6.
Bendicen Seminario Diocesano — Benjamín Pacheco · EnsenadaHoy (El Vigía)Blessing and consecration of the Diocesan Seminary of Ensenada, ex Ejido Chapultepec. The page shows '25 de Agosto' with no year, so the seminary quote fragment verified on the page is not shipped and no date is asserted for the event.
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