His parents are Don José del Refugio Avila and Maria Mercedes Gándara Lozano.
He was baptized on 10 June 1965 in the Parish of Saint Louis Bishop, in the same town he was born, and was confirmed on 21 January 1966.
His mother instilled in him a devotion to the Señor de los Rayos (Our Lord of the Rays).
On solemn liturgical days, he traveled to hear Mass from the Church of Jesus and Mary in El Paso, Texas, United States, a church belonging to the Society of Saint Pius X[2] (El Paso stands across the Mexico–United States border from Ciudad Juárez).
On 14 October 1998, the priests, by a two-thirds majority of their votes, elected Dávila to be consecrated a bishop.