Pope Accepts Resignation Of Bishop Ricardo Ramírez Of Las Cruces, New Mexico; Names Bishop Oscar Cantú To Succeed Him

WASHINGTON—Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of Bishop RicardoRamírez, 76, from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Las Cruces, NewMexico, and named Bishop Oscar Cantú, 46, auxiliary bishop of San Antonio, tosucceed him.

Theappointment was publicized in Washington, January 10, by Archbishop Carlo MariaViganò, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

OscarCantú was born December 5, 1966, in Houston, Texas. He earned a bachelor'sdegree in English from the University of Dallas and his master of arts andmaster of divinity degrees from the University of St. Thomas, Houston.

Hewas ordained a priest in 1994 and named auxiliary bishop of San Antonio in2008.

BishopRamírez was the first bishop of the Las Cruces Diocese, which was establishedin 1982.

RicardoRamírez was born in Bay City, Texas, September 12, 1936. Both his parents andtheir families were migrant workers in southern Texas. He attended publicschools in Bay City and graduated from the University of St. Thomas in Houston,in 1959.

Followingstudies at St. Basil's Seminary in Toronto and the major seminary in MexicoCity, he was ordained to the priesthood as a member of the Basilian Fathers in1966.

BishopRamírez served in parishes in Canada, Detroit and Mexico. He was on the staffof the Mexican-American Cultural Center in San Antonio when he was appointedauxiliary bishop of San Antonio in 1981.

TheLas Cruces diocese includes 132,646 Catholics, or 24 percent of the 549,219people in the entire diocese.

# # # # #