Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces
The Diocese of Las Cruces (, ) is the Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in southern New Mexico in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Santa Fe. The mother church of the Diocese of Las Cruces is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Las Cruces. As of 2023, the bishop is Peter Baldacchino. Territory 
The Diocese of Las Cruces comprises the following counties:

Hidalgo, Grant, Luna, Sierra, Doña Ana, Otero, Lincoln, Chaves, Eddy, and 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. The first Catholic church in Mesilla, San Albino, was dedicated in 1851. Holy Cross Church in Las Cruces was established in 1859. The Diocese of Las Cruces was erected by Pope John Paul II on August 17, 1982. Its territory was taken from the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and the Diocese of El Paso. The pope named Auxiliary Bishop Ricardo Ramírez from the Archdiocese of San Antonio 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 of San Antonio, named by Pope Benedict XVI in 2013. Cantú became bishop of San Jose in 2018. The next year, to replace Cantú in Las Cruces, Pope Francis named Auxiliary Bishop Peter Baldacchino of the Archdiocese of Miami. As of 2023, Baldacchino is the bishop of Las Cruces. Sex abuse 
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 Alamogordo at the time of the alleged crimes. He was being treated for sexually abusing minors in Massachusetts. The plaintiff also accused Holley of assault and battery and possession of child pornography. 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 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 being headed by Bishop Thomas Olmsted of the Diocese of Phoenix. Bishops
 Ricardo Ramirez (1982–2013)
 Oscar Cantú (2013–2018), appointed Bishop of San Jose
 Peter Baldacchino (2019–present)

Education
The Diocese of Las Cruces has four elementary schools:

 All Saints Catholic School – Roswell
 Las Cruces Catholic School – Las Cruces
 St. Frances Cabrini Catholic School – Alamogordo
 St. Helena Catholic School – Hobbs

See also

 Catholic Church by country
 Catholic Church in the United States
 Ecclesiastical Province of Santa Fe
 Global organisation of the Catholic Church
 List of Roman Catholic archdioceses (by country and continent)
 List of Roman Catholic dioceses (alphabetical) (including archdioceses)
 List of Roman Catholic dioceses (structured view) (including archdioceses)
 List of the Catholic dioceses of the United States

References

External links
Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces Official Site

 
Diocese of Las Cruces
Christian organizations established in 1982
Las Cruces
1982 establishments in New Mexico
Las Cruces