The Diocese of Las Cruces (, ) is the

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ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the

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in southern New Mexico in the United States. It is a

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandr ...

in the

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of the metropolitan

Archdiocese of Santa Fe In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

. The mother church of the Diocese of Las Cruces is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Las Cruces. As of 2025, the bishop is Peter Baldacchino.

Territory

The Diocese of Las Cruces comprises the following counties: *

Hidalgo Hidalgo may refer to: People * Hidalgo (nobility), members of the Spanish nobility * Hidalgo (surname) Places Mexico :''Most, if not all, named for Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753–1811)'' * Hidalgo (state), in central Mexico * Hidalgo, Coah ...

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* Sierra * Doña Ana * Otero *

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* Chaves *

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* Lea As of 2023, the diocese had a Catholic population exceeding 234,000, served in 46 parishes and 40 missions.

History

The early Catholic settlers in the region were serviced by visiting priests from Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Church in El Paso. Among the earliest Catholic churches in the region are Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria Mission in Doña Ana (built in 1844), San Albino Basilica in Mesilla (established in 1851)and St. Genevieve Catholic Church (established in 1859) which was demolished in the late 1960s. Holy Cross, St. Albert the Great, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary Cathedral are among the more modern parishes in the Las Cruces region. There are several missions scattered throughout the region. The Diocese of Las Cruces was erected by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

on August 17, 1982. Its territory was taken from the

and the

Diocese of El Paso The Diocese of El Paso (, ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the El Paso Valley in Texas in the United States. It is a Suffragan bishop, suffragan see of the metropolitan Roman Catholic Archdioces ...

. The pope named Auxiliary Bishop Ricardo Ramírez from the

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as the first bishop of Las Cruces. Ramírez had to build the new diocese, creating a small diocesan office with one manual typewriter. Ramírez retired in 2013. The second bishop of Las Cruces was Auxiliary Bishop

Oscar Cantú Oscar Cantú (born December 5, 1966) is a Mexican-American Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of San Jose since 2018. Cantú served as Bishop of Las Cruces from 2013 to 2018, and as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of San Antonio ...

of San Antonio, named by

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in 2013. Cantú became bishop of San Jose in 2018. The next year, to replace Cantú in Las Cruces,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

named Auxiliary Bishop

Peter Baldacchino Peter Baldacchino (born December 5, 1960) is a Maltese-born American Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of Las Cruces since 2019. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Miami. Early life and education Pet ...

of the

Archdiocese of Miami The Archdiocese of Miami (, , ) is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in South Florida in the United States. It is the metropolitan see for the Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Miami, Ecclesiastical Province of Miami, which ...

. As of March 2025, Baldacchino is the bishop of Las Cruces.

Scandals

In November 2018, the Diocese of Las Cruces released the names of 28 clergy who were credibly accused of committing acts of sex abuse while serving in the diocese. In February 2019, the diocese released the personnel files of all of the credibly accused clergy. The diocese added 13 more clergy and a volunteer teacher to the credibly accused list as well. In May 2020, the diocese was named in a sexual abuse lawsuit. The plaintiff accused the defendants of protecting Reverend David Holley after he sexually abused the plaintiff in the 1970s. Holley was a priest from the Diocese of Worcester living at the Servants of the Paraclete facility in

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at the time of the alleged crimes. He was being treated for sexually abusing minors in

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. The plaintiff also accused Holley of assault and battery and possession of

child pornography Child pornography (also abbreviated as CP, also called child porn or kiddie porn, and child sexual abuse material, known by the acronym CSAM (underscoring that children can not be deemed willing participants under law)), is Eroticism, erotic ma ...

. Holley was convicted in New Mexico in 1993 of sexually abusing and raping eight boys. He was sentenced to 55 to 275 years in prison. In November 2020, the

Congregation for Bishops The Dicastery for Bishops, formerly named Congregation for Bishops (), is the department of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church that oversees the selection of most new bishops. Its proposals require papal approval to take effect, but are usu ...

in the Vatican announced an investigation of Bishop Cantú for his handling of sexual abuse cases while he was bishop of Las Cruces. The investigation was headed by Bishop

Thomas Olmsted Thomas James Olmsted (born January 21, 1947) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix in Arizona from 2003 to 2022. Olmsted previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Wichita in Kansas fr ...

of the

Diocese of Phoenix The Diocese of Phoenix (; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, in western and central Arizona in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the ecclesiastical province of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. The Diocese of Ph ...

. As of 2025, the Vatican had not released an outcome of the investigation. New Mexico state Senator Joe Cervantes stated in July 2021 that he was denied communion at his church in Las Cruces "...by the Catholic bishop here in Las Cruces and based on my political office." In response, the diocese said that Cervantes had been warned in advance that he would not receive communion due to his support of an abortions rights bill in the

New Mexico Senate The New Mexico State Senate () is the upper house of the New Mexico State Legislature. The Senate consists of 42 members, with each senator representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts across the state. All senatorial distr ...

Bishops

# Ricardo Ramirez (1982–2013) #

(2013–2018), appointed Bishop of San Jose #

(2019–present)

Education

As of 2025, the Diocese of Las Cruces operates the following elementary schools: * All Saints Catholic School – Roswell * Las Cruces Catholic School – Las Cruces * St. Frances Cabrini Catholic School – Alamogordo * St. Helena Catholic School –

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Closed schools

* St. Mary's High School - Las Cruces (closed in 2020) * Madonna High School - Las Cruces (closed in early 1960s)

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Catholic Diocese Of Las Cruces Diocese of Las Cruces Christian organizations established in 1982 Las Cruces 1982 establishments in New Mexico Las Cruces