Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces has new bishop. Auxiliary BishopOscar Cantú of the Diocese of San Antonio, Texas, on Thursday was named bishop of the diocese that covers most of southern New Mexico. The Vatican apostolic nuncio to the U.S. announced on Thursday, Jan. 10, that Cantú will serve as the second leader of the Diocese of Las Cruces, N.M., following the retirement of Bishop Richard Ramirez on his 75th birthday last year.
The Diocese of Las Cruces was formed from a part of the Diocese of El Paso in 1982 and has more than 100,000 Catholics in the diocese, about a quarter of the population.
