The Diocese of Las Cruces (, ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the southwestern region of the United States, comprising the 10 southern counties in the state of New Mexico: Hidalgo, Grant, Luna, Sierra, Doña Ana, Otero, Lincoln, Chaves, Eddy, and Lea. It is led by a prelate bishop which serves as pastor of the mother church, Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, in the City of Las Cruces. Its congregants are overwhelmingly Hispanic, mostly Mexican in descent. The Diocese of Las Cruces is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Santa Fe. History The Diocese of Las Cruces was canonically 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. On November 8, 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 On February 11, 2019, the Diocese released the personnel files of all of the credibly accused clergy. 13 more clergy and a volunteer teacher were added to the credibly accused list as well. On May 8, 2020, it was revealed that the Diocese of Las Cruces was facing a major sex abuse lawsuit involving former priest David Holley, who was accused of committing the alleged sex abuse in the 1970s, and two parishes in Alamogordo. Holley was convicted in New Mexico in 1993 and given a 55 to 275 year prison sentence. Bishops The list of bishops of the diocese and their years of service: Ricardo Ramirez (1982–2013) Oscar Cantú (2013–2018), appointed Bishop of San Jose Peter Baldacchino (2019–present) Education Las Cruces Catholic School (k-8) 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