Luís Gonzaga Silva Pepeu

Luís Gonzaga Silva Pepeu O. F. M. Cap. (born February 18, 1957) is a Brazilian Catholic prelate who has served as the first bishop of the newly created Diocese of Baturité since 2025, when he was appointed by Pope Leo XIV. A Capuchin friar and formerly the third bishop of Afogados da Ingazeira and the second archbishop of Vitória da Conquista, he was allowed to continue using the style of archbishop even though the new diocese is not an archdiocese.

Biography Luís Gonzaga Silva Pepeu is the second child of Pedro de Souza Pepeu and Izabel Silva Pepeu. In his youth, he studied in Caruaru and Maceió. Pepeu was a Franciscan novice throughout the year of 1977, in Vitória da Conquista, and professed his vows on January 17, 1978.

In 1978, Pepeu began his ecclesiastical studies in philosophy and theology for the priesthood at the Saint Francis Seminary in Nova Veneza, Sumaré, São Paulo. In 1982, concluded his theology course in the Recife Institute of Theology (Instituto de Teologia do Recife — ITER) and was ordained a priest on December 8. being ordained on October 6, 2001, in Caruaru, by its bishop, Antônio Soares Costa. The main co-ordinators were Franscisco Austregésilo de Mesquita Filho, the diocese's bishop emeritus and Paulo Cardoso da Silva, OCarm, bishop of Petrolina. On October 27, 2001, Pepeu officially began his episcopate as bishop of Afogados da Ingazeira. being sworn on September 28, 2008.

After a sabbatical year, Pepeu was assigned as the vicar general of the Archdiocese of Olinda e Recife on May 13, 2021, occupying the role until December 27, 2023. His successor was Josivaldo José Bezerra. Pepeu also occupied the presidency of the archdiocese's Assembly for Legal Proceedings.

In January 2026, became the first bishop of the Diocese of Baturité, appointed by Pope Leo XIV. His Holiness allowed Pepeu to continue using the style of archbishop as an archbishop ad personam.

Episcopal ordinations Luís Pepeu ordained the following bishops:

Severino Batista de França, OFM Cap. (2004) Egidio Bisol (2010) Valdemir Ferreira dos Santos (2010) Magnus Henrique Lopes (2010) João Santos Cardoso (2012) Estevam dos Santos Silva Filho (2014) José Roberto Silva Carvalho (2017) Rubival Cabral Britto, OFM Cap. (2017)

He also co-ordained the following bishops:

José Soares Filho, OFM Cap. (2003) Aldemiro Sena dos Santos (2017) Vitor Agnaldo de Menezes (2018) Juraci Gomes de Oliveira (2023)