Passing of Rev. Gustavo Benitez Camacho

July 1, 1969 – October 27, 2024 

Fr. Gustavo Benitez Camacho was born on July 1, 1969 in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico to parents Luis Benitez Estrada and Lidia Camacho Obeso. Fr. Benitez Camacho attended Seminary at the Seminario Diocesano de Mexicali, in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, and was ordained on October 18, 1996. 

Fr. Benitez Camacho began his ministry in 1996 as a parochial vicar at Nuestra Señora del Rosario Parish in Mexicali, Mexico. He thereafter served as a parochial vicar at the following parishes: Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Ejido Hermosillo, Baja California, Mexico; Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Peñasco, Sonora, Mexico; Santa Maria Parish, in Escondido, California; Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Calexico, California; and Immaculate Conception in San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexico. 

On July 31, 2007, Fr. Benitez Camacho was welcomed to the Diocese of Tucson and began his ministry within this Diocese on September 1 the same year. Fr. Benitez served in the Diocese of Tucson at Immaculate Conception Parish, Yuma, Arizona; Sacred Heart of Jesus, Nogales, Arizona; and at St. Francis of Assisi, Yuma, Arizona. He also served as the Spiritual Director for the Charismatic Movement in Yuma, Arizona in 2011. Fr. Benitez Camacho was incardinated into the Diocese of Tucson on April 25, 2012. 

In  more recent years, Fr. Benitez Camacho’s ministry became focused on service to the Catholic community through prison ministry. In February 2024, Fr. Benitez Camacho was appointed to serve the Federal Correctional Complex in Tucson, Arizona, where he undertook prison, jail, and detention camp ministries. 

Fr. Benitez Camacho is preceded in death by Lidia Camacho Obeso (mother). He is survived by family Luis Benitez Estrada (father), two sisters, Gabriella and Veronica Benitez Camacho. Funeral Liturgies will be celebrated at Immaculate Conception Parish in Yuma, Arizona (505 South Avenue B, Yuma, Arizona 85364) on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, beginning with a time of visitation at 10:00 a.m., followed by a Rosary at 10:30 a.m., and Funeral Mass at 11:00 a.m.