The first Catholic Mass in southern Nevada was celebrated in 1776 in present-day Laughlin by Francisco Hermenegildo Tomas Garces, traveling from Mexico when the entire region was part of the Spanish Empire.[4]
Bishop Lawrence Scanlan, head of the Apostolic Vicariate of Salt Lake City, established the first parish in Pioche in the late 1880s. He ministered to the scattered Catholic population throughout southern Nevada. In 1908, Scanlan created St. Joan of Arc, the first parish in Las Vegas. Scanlan said that he chose the name Joan of Arc because the blistering sun in Las Vegas reminded him of her suffering when she was burned at the stake.[5]
In 1931, Pope Pius XI erected the Diocese of Reno, including the entire State of Nevada. The southern Nevada region remained part of this diocese for the next 64 years.[4] With the establishment of Boulder City in 1931 to construct Hoover Dam, St. Andrew Parish was created there to serve the Catholic construction workers.[6] In 1976, Pope Paul VI renamed the Diocese of Reno the Diocese of Reno-Las Vegas to reflect the growth of the Catholic population in southern Nevada.[6]
In 1995, Pope John Paul II divided the Diocese of Reno-Las Vegas into the Diocese of Reno and the Diocese of Las Vegas. He appointed Daniel F. Walsh, previously bishop of Reno-Las Vegas, as the first bishop of Las Vegas.
The second bishop of Las Vegas was Joseph A. Pepe of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, named by John Paul II in 2001.[7] In 2003, Pepe dedicated the Our Lady of LaVang Vietnamese Catholic Community in Las Vegas as a shrine. In 2004, he opened a diocese human resources department along with an Office of Hispanic Ministry, an Office of Liturgy and Worship and a diocesan Office of Archives. In 2007, Pepe dedicated Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas.[7]
In 2007, George Chaanine, a priest at Our Lady of Las Vegas Parish, was sentenced to four to 12 years in state prison for assault. Chaanine had physically and sexually assaulted Michaelina Bellamy, the events coordinator for the parish, then evaded arrest for six days. Bellamy's injuries included a broken hand and two large gashes to her head. Chaanine later said he was in love with Bellamy and investigators found evidence that he provided her with financial support.[8]
On February 28, 2018, Pope Francis accepted Pepe's letter of resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Las Vegas after he reached the mandatory retirement age of 75.[9]
George Leo Thomas, previously bishop of the Diocese of Helena, was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Las Vegas by Pope Francis on February 28, 2018 and was installed as bishop on May 15, 2018.[10]
On May 30, 2023, Pope Francis elevated the Diocese of Las Vegas to an archdiocese and established the new ecclesiastical province of Las Vegas, with the Dioceses of Reno and Salt Lake City as suffragan dioceses.[11][12] Bishop Thomas was elevated to be the first archbishop of the archdiocese.[12]
Six families sued the Diocese of Las Vegas, along with Bishops Pepe and Walsh, in 2002. The plaintiffs claimed that Mark Roberts of Saint Peter the Apostle Parish in Henderson had physically and sexually abused them as boys between 1996 and 1999.[13] In 2001, Roberts pleaded guilty of open or gross lewdness and four counts of child abuse and neglect. He was sentenced to three years probation and inpatient psychological treatment.[14]
In April 2019, the diocese published a list of 33 clergy with credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors. The list went back several decades, when the diocese was part of the Diocese of Reno.[15]
United States
