The Diocese of Las Cruces (Latin: Dioecesis Las Cruces, Spanish: Diócesis de 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.
Diocese of Las Cruces | |
|---|---|
 Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Mary | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Location | |
| Country |  United States |
| Territory | 10 counties across Southern New Mexico |
| Ecclesiastical province | Santa Fe |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 44,483 sq mi (115,210 km2) |
| Population - Total - Catholics | (as of 2010) 527,000 139,322 (26.4%) |
| Parishes | 45 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | August 17, 1982 (42 years ago) |
| Cathedral | Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Mary |
| Patron saint | Saint Francis of Assisi[1] |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop | Peter Baldacchino |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | John Charles Wester |
| Bishops emeritus | Ricardo Ramirez |
| Map | |
 | |
| Website | |
| rcdlc.org | |
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
editThe 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.[2]
History
editThe early Catholic settlers in the region were serviced by visiting priests from Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Church in El Paso.[3] 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)[4]and St. Genevieve Catholic Church (established in 1859) which stood as the "heart of Las Cruces" until its demolition in the late 1960s. [5] 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 on August 17, 1982. Its territory was taken from the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and the Diocese of El Paso.[6] The pope named Auxiliary Bishop Ricardo Ramírez from the Archdiocese of San Antonio as the first bishop of Las Cruces.[7]
Ramírez had to build the new diocese, creating a small diocesan office with one manual typewriter.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10]
As of 2023, Baldacchino is the bishop of Las Cruces.
Scandals
editIn 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.[11][12] In February 2019, the diocese released the personnel files of all of the credibly accused clergy.[13] The diocese added 13 more clergy and a volunteer teacher to the credibly accused list as well.[14]
In May 2020, the diocese was named in a sexual abuse lawsuit.[15] The plaintiff accused the defendants of protecting Reverend David Holley after he sexually abused the plaintiff in the 1970s.[15] 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.[16] 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.[17]
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.[18]
Bishops
edit- Ricardo Ramirez (1982–2013)
- Oscar Cantú (2013–2018), appointed Bishop of San Jose
- Peter Baldacchino (2019–present)
Education
editSee also
edit
- 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
edit- ^ "Feast of St. Francis of Assisi a Patron of Our Diocese of las Cruces".
- ^ "Diocese of Las Cruces". www.rcdlc.org. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
- ^ "History". Basilica of San Albino. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
- ^ "History". www.sanalbino.org. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
- ^ "history of holy cross church". Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
- ^ "Diocese of Las Cruces". Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved 2013-05-28.
- ^ "Bishop Ricardo Ramirez [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
- ^ López, Carlos Andres. "2017 Distinguished Resident: Bishop Emeritus Ricardo Ramírez". Las Cruces Sun-News. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
- ^ "Vatican appoints Oscar Cantú as bishop in San Jose". Las Cruces Sun News. July 11, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
- ^ "Bishop Peter Baldacchino [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
- ^ Onsurez, Jessica. "Catholic Diocese names 2 Carlsbad priests involved in sex abuse scandal". Carlsbad Current-Argus.
- ^ Oxford, Andrew. "Diocese of Las Cruces names 28 accused of abuse". Santa Fe New Mexican.
- ^ "Las Cruces Diocese releases accused priests' personnel files". AP NEWS. February 12, 2019.
- ^ Staff and wire reports. "Las Cruces Diocese releases files, identifies 13 more accused priests". Las Cruces Sun-News.
- ^ a b Maxwell, Nicole. "St. Jude's, Immaculate Conception named in lawsuit for 1970s child sexual abuse". Alamogordo Daily News.
- ^ "2 Alamogordo parishes named in child sex abuse suit - Albuquerque Journal". www.abqjournal.com.
- ^ "Worcester Diocese named in New Mexico child sex abuse suit - Blog View - The 016 - Worcester, Mass". the016.com.
- ^ CNA. "California Bishop Cantu under Vatican 'Vos estis' investigation". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
- ^ "Diocese of Las Cruces - Schools". www.rcdlc.org. Retrieved 2023-10-19.