Pope Francis names temporary leader to Las Cruces Diocese

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — Pope Francis has appointed the bishop emeritus of the Tucson Diocese to temporarily oversee the Diocese of Las Cruces.
The Las Cruces Sun-News reports Rev. Gerald Kicanas (kih-KA'-nuhs) was named last week as the administrator for the southern New Mexico diocese until a new bishop is named.
Kicanas replaces Bishop Oscar Cantu who was recently reassigned as coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of San José, California.
Kicanas was appointed coadjutor bishop of Tucson on October 2001, installed as bishop of Tucson in March 2003. He became bishop emeritus in November 2017.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces was founded in 1982 and encompasses the counties of Dona Ana, Eddy, Grant, Hidalgo, Lea, Luna, Otero, Sierra, Lincoln and Chavez counties.
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Information from: Las Cruces Sun-News, http://www.lcsun-news.com