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José Luis Cerra Luna

Bishop of Nogales

Bishop

1963

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Ordained

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Consecrated Bishop

Nogales

Diocese

Mexico

Country

The Life

José Luis Cerra Luna was born on 24 July 1963 in Torreón, Coahuila, and was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Matamoros on 21 April 1990, incardinated in what is now the Diocese of Matamoros-Reynosa. He studied in the seminaries of Matamoros and Monterrey, took a licentiate in philosophy at the Universidad Pontificia de México and a licentiate in spiritual theology at the Pontifical Theological Faculty and Pontifical Institute of Spirituality Teresianum in Rome.

As a priest of Matamoros he served as formator, bursar, and spiritual director of the diocesan seminary, as parish priest of various communities, and as a member of the diocesan Council for Economic Affairs, the College of Consultors, the Presbyteral Council, and the Pastoral Council. At his appointment as bishop he was vicar general and moderator of the Commission for the Protection of Minors. In July 2024, as pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Reynosa, he welcomed the renaming of the diocese to Matamoros-Reynosa and the elevation of his parish to co-cathedral.

Pope Leo XIV appointed him Bishop of Nogales on 20 June 2025, and he was ordained bishop on 10 September 2025, succeeding the founding bishop, José Leopoldo González González, who was transferred to San Juan de los Lagos. He had no prior see. The Diocese of Tucson column of 16 September 2025 noted he planned to join the binational pilgrimage and Mass at San Luis Río Colorado on 12 October 2025.

Major Works & Initiatives

Camino hacia el Calvario: Devocionario para el Viernes Santo: Vía Crucis, Pésame a la Virgen, Las Siete Palabras

Good Friday devotional (Stations of the Cross, Condolences to the Virgin, Seven Words), Buena Prensa, imprint El Peregrino, 1st edition 2024, 86 pp., ISBN 9786078959068; includes QR codes linking to digital podcast platforms.

In His Own Words

God calls us to feel even more closely united to our bishop, Eugenio Andrés Lira Rugarcía, but also to the entire diocesan community. Being a co-cathedral is a vocation to unity, not only within our parish but for the entire Diocese of Matamoros-Reynosa,

Message on Facebook on the elevation of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Reynosa, to co-cathedral of the renamed Diocese of Matamoros-Reynosa, reported by ACI Prensa and CNA, 25 July 2024 (republished 28 July 2024). Spoken as pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, before his episcopal appointment; 43 words.

The Old Mass, See by See

Nogales2025-09-10 – presentNo act of his own

What he inheritedNo provision for the 1962 Missal inherited from Jose Leopoldo Gonzalez Gonzalez is established in the record; he was the founding bishop of Nogales and was transferred to San Juan de los Lagos. Cerra Luna was not a diocesan bishop before September 2025.

Since the SSPX decree of 2 July 2026: No statement recorded as of 2026-10-28.

Reviewed 2026-10-28Confidence: medium

Domus Dei’s Verdict

The Bishop & the Mass of Ages

No governing act of his own found

References & Further Reading

Rinunce e nomine, 20 June 2025 — Holy See Press Office · 2025Appointment to Nogales 20 June 2025; CV: born 24 July 1963, Torreon, Coahuila; seminaries of Matamoros and Monterrey; priestly ordination 21 April 1990, incardinated Matamoros-Reynosa; licentiate in philosophy, Universidad Pontificia de Mexico; licentiate in spiritual theology, Teresianum, Rome; formator, bursar, spiritual director of the Matamoros seminary; parish priest of various communities; Council for Economic Affairs; College of Consultors; Presbyteral Council; Pastoral Council; vicar general and moderator of the Commission for the Protection of Minors.

10 September, Living Bishop Events — Catholic-Hierarchy · 2025Cerra Luna ordained bishop 10 September 2025, Bishop of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico; Ruy Rendon Leal ceased as apostolic administrator of Nogales the same day. The roster basis for the open tenure is possession, resting on Nogales diocesan reporting; no separate toma de posesion announcement was opened, so the ordination listing is the corroboration for the date.

Shepherd's Slant: September 16, 2025 — Gerald F. Kicanas · Diocese of Tucson · 2025Bishop Kicanas writes that 'last week, the Bishop Jose Luis Cerra Luna for the Diocese of Nogales in Sonora was ordained as a bishop'; he replaces Jose Leopoldo Gonzalez-Gonzalez, the founding bishop, transferred to San Juan de los Lagos; Cerra Luna planned to join the binational pilgrimage and Mass at San Luis Rio Colorado on 12 October 2025. The same column's welcome of an ICRSS canon concerns the Diocese of Tucson, Arizona, not Cerra Luna's Nogales, Sonora.

U.S.-Mexico border diocese of Matamoros to have new name, co-cathedral in Reynosa — ACI Prensa Staff · ACI Prensa / CNA via FullyCatholic · 2024ACI Prensa item 25 July 2024, republished 28 July 2024. Father Jose Luis Cerra Luna, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, shared a message on Facebook on the renaming to Matamoros-Reynosa and the co-cathedral elevation; quote verified verbatim.

Camino hacia el Calvario: Devocionario para el Viernes Santo — José Luis Cerra Luna · Cámara Nacional de la Industria Editorial Mexicana (CANIEM), Buena Prensa catalogue · 2024Catalogue entry: author Jose Luis Cerra Luna; publisher Buena Prensa, imprint El Peregrino; ISBN 9786078959068; 1st edition 2024; 86 pp.; Good Friday devotional with QR codes to podcast platforms.

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