The Diocese of Las Cruces comprises the following counties: Hidalgo, Grant, Luna, Sierra, Doña Ana, Otero, Lincoln, Chaves, Eddy, and Lea.

[2] The early Catholic settlers in the region were serviced by visiting priests from Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Church in El Paso.

[3] Among the earliest Catholic churches in the region are Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria Mission in Doña Ana (built in 1844), San Albino Basilica in Mesilla (established in 1851)[4]and St. Genevieve Catholic Church (established in 1859) which stood as the "heart of Las Cruces" until its demolition in the late 1960s.

[5] Holy Cross, St. Albert the Great, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary Cathedral are among the more modern parishes in the Las Cruces region.

The next year, to replace Cantú in Las Cruces, Pope Francis named Auxiliary Bishop Peter Baldacchino of the Archdiocese of Miami.

[15] Holley was a priest from the Diocese of Worcester living at the Servants of the Paraclete facility in Alamogordo at the time of the alleged crimes.