The new bishop for the Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces will be installed Feb. 28 during a ceremony at the city's convention center. The Las Cruces Sun-New reports that 45 bishops, archbishops and cardinals from the United States and Mexico are expected to attend the Rev. Oscar Cantu's installation.
The departing bishop, the Rev. Ricardo Ramirez, is to be honored at a Mass on Feb. 12 at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, in central Las Cruces. It starts at 6 p.m.
Those attending Cantu's installation also will include the papal ambassador to Washington, D.C.
Some 132,600 Catholics live in the diocese. It covers 10 counties in southern New Mexico, from the Arizona border east to the Texas state line.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.