José Tomás Sánchez (March 17, 1920 – March 9, 2012) was a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

who held several posts in the Roman Curia, the highest of which was

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

of the

Congregation for the Clergy The Dicastery for the Clergy, formerly named Congregation for the Clergy (; formerly the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy and Sacred Congregation of the Council), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible for overseeing matters regardin ...

from 1991 to 1996. Prior to his appointment to the Roman Curia, he held several diocesan bishop positions in the Philippines, the last of which was Archbishop of Nueva Segovia from 1982 to 1986. He was ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

on May 12, 1946. He was consecrated bishop on May 12, 1968, following his appointment as Auxiliary Bishop of Nueva Cáceres, and was elevated to cardinal on June 28, 1991, by

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Early life and education

Sánchez was born in Pandan town in the island-province of

Catanduanes Catanduanes (; ), officially the Province of Catanduanes, is an island province located in the Bicol Region of Luzon in the Philippines. It is the 12th-largest island in the Philippines, and lies to the east of Camarines Sur, across Maqueda Cha ...

. He was the eighth of ten children born to Patricio Sánchez and Paz Tomás, who was said to be of Spanish descent. He was and attended the Holy Rosary Seminary (then named ''Seminario del Santísimo Rosario'') in Naga City, and afterwards obtained his doctorate in theology at the

University of Santo Tomás The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Miguel ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

Early priesthood

After an early ambition to become an engineer, Sánchez almost did not enter the priesthood when

Imperial Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...

temporarily closed the seminary during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

; his friends from the seminary encouraged him to continue his studies. Sanchez was ordained on May 12, 1946, as a priest from

Sorsogon Sorsogon, officially the Province of Sorsogon (Bikol language, Bikol: ''Probinsya kan Sorsogon''; Waray language, Waray: ''Probinsya han Sorsogon''; tl, Lalawigan ng Sorsogon), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines locat ...

, where he was asked to teach at the Peñafrancia Seminary. According to him, he taught Latin, Spanish and, because no one else could ably teach the subjects, Geometry and Algebra. He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Nueva Caceres on February 5, 1968, at 47 years old, and became Titular Bishop of Lesvi.

Episcopacy

Bishop of Lucena

On December 13, 1971, he was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Lucena with the right to succeed as Bishop of Lucena upon the see's vacancy, which he did on September 25, 1976, at age 56.

Archbishop of Nueva Segovia

On June 12, 1982, he was appointed by

as Archbishop of Nueva Segovia, succeeding Most Rev. Juan C. Sison. He resigned from the seat on March 22, 1986, due to his appointment to the Roman Curia as Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

Roman Curia and cardinalate

On October 30, 1985, he was appointed to the Roman Curia as Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. On June 28, 1991, he was elevated by Pope John Paul II to the

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are appoi ...

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of '' San Pio V a Villa Carpegna''. On July 1, 1991, he was also appointed Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy and President of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See. He retired as Prefect on June 15, 1996. He was elevated to Cardinal-Priest after 10 years on February 26, 2002.

Return to the Philippines and death

Sánchez returned to the Philippines in December 2010, ostensibly to fight the

Reproductive Health Bill The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012, also known as the Reproductive Health Law or RH Law, and officially designated as Republic Act No. 10354, is a Philippine law that provided universal access to methods on contracept ...

, which he believed will destroy the Filipino family due to the promotion of extramarital sex and premarital sex that comes with the distribution of contraceptives. "His constant prayer was that Europe’s loss of its Christian faith would never happen in the Philippines," wrote former Senator

Francisco Tatad Francisco "Kit" Sarmiento Tatad (born October 4, 1939) is a Filipino journalist and politician best known for having served as Minister of Public Information under President Ferdinand Marcos from 1969 to 1980, and for serving as a Senator of t ...

. "And he would contribute his last strength to the fight of the Filipino family against the international reproductive health lobby, which has destroyed the family and killed the Christian faith in many parts of the world."Francisco Tatad, ''In Memoriam Cardinal Jose Tomas Sanchez'', March 9, 2012. Cardinal Sánchez died on March 9, 2012, at the age of 91 due to multiple organ failure and 8 days before his 92nd birthday, making him the Philippines' longest living Cardinal.

References

External links

Vatican Cardinal BioCardinal Sanchez bio
* https://web.archive.org/web/20120325092035/http://www.bicolmail.com/issue/2012/mar22/xjose.html Bicol Mail {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanchez, Jose Tomas 1920 births 2012 deaths People from Catanduanes Filipino cardinals Bicolano people 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Philippines University of Santo Tomas alumni Prefects of the Congregation for the Clergy Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II Roman Catholic bishops of Lucena Roman Catholic archbishops of Nueva Segovia