Dr. Gustavo Valdez. D.Min 

Dr. Gustavo Valdez joined the Chancery staff on August 1, 2025, as director of Pastoral Formation and Hispanic Ministry. He and his wife Brandi have been married nearly 17 years and have four children – two boys and two girls – ages ranging from 8 to 16. They are coming to Cheyenne from just outside of the small town of Saint Matthews, South Carolina.

Dr. Gustavo brings with him 17 years of experience serving at a diocesan level. He was with the Diocese of Kansas City – Saint Joseph, Missouri – for seven years, first as the associate director of Faith Formation for the Bishop Helmsing Institute, and then as the director of Hispanic Ministry. He then moved on to serve as the Curia Secretary for Hispanic Ministry for the Diocese of Charleston for ten years.

In that position, he facilitated communication between diocesan offices, parishes, and ministries and created and supervised annual budgets for several ministries. Gustavo also implemented a diocesan pastoral plan, comprising multiple ministries, including a three-year faith formation program with diocesan certification for lay people; spiritual retreats for ministry leaders and laity; farm workers ministries; ecclesial ministries; Hispanic radio programs; Hispanic youth ministry; and administration of a retreat house.

In his letter of intention, Dr. Valdez writes that: “serving a diocese with people with different backgrounds is very attractive to me, as I have a natural inclination to work toward the process of integration of communities.