Nelson Antonio Martínez Rust

Nelson Antonio Martínez Rust (10 June 1944 – 3 May 2026) was a Venezuelan Roman Catholic prelate, who served as the second bishop of the Diocese of San Felipe from 1992 until 2016. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Valencia in Venezuela and titular bishop of Bararus from 1982 until 1992.

Biography Nelson Martínez Rust was born on 10 June 1944 in Puerto Cabello, in the state of Carabobo, Venezuela. He completed his priestly formation at the Interdiocesan Seminary of Caracas and continued his higher education in Rome at the Pontifical Gregorian University, where he specialized in Sacred Scripture.

He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Valencia on 15 December 1968. On 8 January 1982, Pope John Paul II appointed him Auxiliary Bishop of Valencia and Titular Bishop of Bararus. He received his episcopal consecration on 25 March 1982 from Archbishop Luis Eduardo Henríquez Jiménez.

Following his retirement, he resided in Valencia as Bishop Emeritus. He died there on 3 May 2026, at the age of 81.