Fr. Vélez was born in Venezuela and grew up in Colombia and the United States. His earlier professional formation was as a physician trained in internal medicine. In 1998 he obtained a doctorate in Dogmatic Theology at the University of Navarre. The same year he was ordained a priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei and since then has served as a priest in various cities of the United States, providing human and spiritual formation to college students.
He is author of some medical ethics and theology articles and various books: Cardenal Newman, un santo para el mundo de hoy (2019), Holiness in a Secular Age, the Witness of Cardinal Newman (2017), A University Education for the 21st. Century, the Opening of the American Mind (2015) and Passion for Truth, the Life of John Henry Newman (2012). With Mike Aquilina he is co-author of Take Five, Meditations with John Henry Newman (2010).