Name Oscar Cantu Posthumous style not applicable | Religious style Monsignor Spoken style Your Excellency | |
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Reference style The Most Reverend | ||
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Oscar Cantú (born December 5, 1966) is an American bishop of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of the Diocese of Las Cruces, in New Mexico, since 2013. During his time in San Antonio, because of the appointment of San Antonio Archbishop José Horacio Gómez to Los Angeles, Cantú was named apostolic administrator of the archdiocese until the installation of the new archbishop. At the time of his appointment as auxiliary bishop of San Antonio, he was the youngest bishop in the country.
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Early life and education
Oscar Cantú was born in Houston, Texas to Mexican immigrants Ramiro and Maria de Jesus Cantú. He is the fifth of eight children. His family lived in Chicago, Illinois before moving to the South, and is old friends with retired Archbishop Patrick Flores. He attended St. Thomas High School and the University of Dallas, from where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree. He also earned a Master of Divinity and of Theological Studies from the University of St. Thomas before traveling to Rome to study at the Pontifical Gregorian University, earning his Licentiate of Sacred Theology.
Priesthood
Upon his return to the States, Cantú was ordained a deacon on November 6, 1993 by Bishop James Tamayo. Cantú was ordained a priest by Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza on May 21, 1994. He then served as parochial vicar of St. Christopher Church in Houston. In 2003, he began teaching at his alma mater of the University of St. Thomas. Cantú also hosted an interfaith radio show with a rabbi and Protestant minister, and was involved in The Metropolitan Organization, which addresses such issues as fair housing, immigration, and education. He was later named pastor of his childhood church of Holy Name in Houston.
Episcopal appointments
On April 10, 2008, Cantú was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of San Antonio and Titular Bishop of Dardanus by Pope Benedict XVI. He was consecrated on June 2 by Archbishop José Gómez, with Archbishop Fiorenza and Bishop Joe Vásquez serving as co-consecrator. Cantú selected to be his motto: Zelus Domus Tuae Comedit Me (Psalms 69:9), meaning, "Zeal for the Lord's house consumes me."
In October 2010, Bishop Cantú discontinued a long-standing Mass that was offered for more than 15 years to the gay and lesbian community at a near-downtown parish in San Antonio. The weekly Mass at St. Ann Church was the subject of complaints. The decision was made by Bishop Cantú, who served the interim head of the archdiocese until Bishop Gustavo García-Siller was installed as the new archbishop of San Antonio on November 23. In an October 13 letter to the St. Ann pastor, Father John Restrepo, Cantú said the Mass conflicted with Catholic teaching because it was offered for Dignity San Antonio, a gay advocacy group. Part of the national organization, DignityUSA, it seeks the acceptance of alternative lifestyles in the Catholic Church.
On Thursday, January 10, 2013, Cantú was named the bishop-designate of Las Cruces, New Mexico, by Pope Benedict XVI, slated to succeed the inaugural bishop, Ricardo Ramírez.
Offices held
Within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Cantú is a member of the Committee on Catholic Education.
At the time of his appointment as Auxiliary Bishop of San Antonio in April 2008 at age 41, he was then the youngest Catholic Bishop in the United States.