Pope Francis Creates New Archdiocese of Las Vegas Including Reno and Salt Lake
Office of the Bishop
DIOCESE OF RENO
MOST REV. DANIEL H. MUEGGENBORG, D.D., S.T.L.
PHONE: 775-326-9428
FAX: 775-372-6235
POPE FRANCIS NAMES LAS VEGAS DIOCESE AN ARCHDIOCESE AND CREATES NEW ECCLESIASTICAL PROVINCE LAS VEGAS - RENO - SALT LAKE CITY
May 30, 2023 (RENO) – Pope Francis has created the Archdiocese of Las Vegas and named the Most Reverend George Leo Thomas, Ph.D., as the first Metropolitan Archbishop of Las Vegas. Bishop Daniel Mueggenborg and Bishop Oscar Solis will continue to be the respective bishops of Reno and Salt Lake City which will be part of the Province of Las Vegas.
“The Catholic Church in Nevada divided into two dioceses twenty-eight years ago due to the exceptional growth in this region. The vibrancy of the faith during this time is evident in many ways including the building of new and larger churches, the expansion of our Catholic schools, and the increased charitable outreach of our ministries. By creating this new Province and establishing Las Vegas as the Metropolitan See, Pope Francis is responding to the distinctive needs of the Church in the Great Basin area of the United States,” commented Bishop Mueggenborg. “I look forward to working with Archbishop George Thomas as we advance the Gospel in our region and I congratulate him on his elevation to archbishop – it is a good and just recognition of his excellent and faithful pastoral leadership of the Church.”
An Ecclesiastical Province consists of a geographical region of an Archdiocese, also known as the, “Metropolitan See,” along with other Dioceses which are called “Suffragan Sees.” The Metropolitan Archbishop is the head of the Archdiocese and, although there is not direct authority over the Suffragan Dioceses within the province,
he can provide assistance to the suffragan Sees as permissible in canon law (Church law). With the new Ecclesiastical Province, the Archdiocese of Las Vegas is the Metropolitan See, and the Diocese of Reno and the Diocese of Salt Lake City are the suffragan Sees.
On October 2, 2023, Feast of The Holy Guardian Angels, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States (Ambassador of the Holy See), Archbishop Christophe Pierre will be in Las Vegas to vest Archbishop Thomas with the pallium, during a special Investiture Mass at the Shrine of the Most Holy Redeemer. More details will follow regarding this special Mass.
For more information and for updates regarding this important Ecclesial announcement please visit: Dioceseoflasvegas.org/archdiocese
Bishop Mueggenborg has requested that all pray for the new Ecclesiastical Province of
Las Vegas and for Archbishop Thomas as the first Archbishop of Las Vegas:
O God, we give you thanks for our new Ecclesiastical Province. May our ministries make visible the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church. Graciously bestow your gifts upon Archbishop Thomas, Bishop Mueggenborg and Bishop Solis, that they may preside in the place of Christ, and teach, sanctify, and govern us in love. Grant that the faithful may be so united to their shepherds, and gathered together in the Holy Spirit through the Gospel and the Eucharist, as to be a sign and instrument in the world of the presence of Christ. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Holy Family, Patron of Reno – Jesus, Mary, and Joseph – pray for us
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About the Archdiocese of Las Vegas, the Diocese of Reno and the Diocese of Salt Lake City:
The Archdiocese of Las Vegas covers 39,088 square miles in Nevada and is comprised of 750,000 Catholics.
The Diocese of Reno covers 70,852 square miles in northern Nevada and is comprised of 132,000 Catholics.
The Diocese of Salt Lake City covers 84,990 square miles and is comprised of 325,000
Catholics.