1776 – 1931: Missionary territory The first Catholic mass in
Southern Nevada was celebrated in 1776 in present-day
Laughlin by the Franciscan missionary
Francisco Garcés, traveling from Mexico when the entire region was part of the Spanish Empire. Unlike other areas on the
Pacific Coast and the Southwest, Spain did not establish any missions in Nevada. During the early 19th century, the few Catholics in Southern Nevada were under the jurisdiction of the
Archdiocese of San Francisco. However, in 1887, the Vatican erected the Apostolic Vicariate of Salt Lake City, which included all of Nevada. Bishop
Lawrence Scanlan of Salt Lake City established the first parish in the region in
Pioche in the late 1880s. He ministered to the Catholic population scattered throughout Southern Nevada. In 1908, Scanlan erected 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.
1931 – 1995: Territory of the Diocese of Reno In 1931,
Pope Pius XI erected the
Diocese of Reno, including all of Nevada. The Southern Nevada region remained part of this diocese for the next 64 years. St. Peter the Apostle Church was constructed in 1944 in Henderson to serve workers in the defense industry there.
St. Rose Dominican Hospital in Henderson was opened by the
Adrian Dominican Sisters in 1947. It is now part of
Dignity Health.
Bishop Gorman High School opened in Las Vegas in 1954, becoming the first Catholic high school in Southern Nevada. 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.
1995 – 2023: Formation as the Diocese of Las Vegas 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. Guardian Angel remained as the cathedral for the new diocese. The second bishop of Las Vegas was
Joseph A. Pepe of the
Archdiocese of Santa Fe, who took office in 2001. In 2003, Pepe dedicated the
Our Lady of La Vang 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 re-dedicated Bishop Gorman High School. On February 28, 2018,
Pope Francis accepted Pepe's letter of resignation as bishop of Las Vegas after he reached the mandatory retirement age of 75.
2018 – present: Elevation to archdiocese George Leo Thomas, previously bishop of the
Diocese of Helena, was appointed bishop of Las Vegas on February 28, 2018, and was installed as bishop on May 15, 2018. On May 30, 2023, 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. Bishop Thomas was named the first archbishop of the archdiocese. == Sex abuse ==