José Tomás Sánchez (March 17, 1920 – March 9, 2012) was a Filipino Catholic prelate who served as

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' ...

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 regard ...

from 1991 to 1996. He previously 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 deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

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

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

on June 28, 1991, by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

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 the M ...

. He was the eighth of ten children born to Patricio Sánchez and Paz Tomás, who was said to be of Spanish descent. He 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 of

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

Early priesthood

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

Imperial Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

temporarily closed the seminary during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

; 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: ''Probinsya kan Sorsogon''; Waray: ''Probinsya han Sorsogon''; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Bicol Region. It is the southernmost province in the island of Luzon and ...

, 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 The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...

as Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

Roman Curia and cardinalate

On October 30, 1985, he was appointed to the

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 (), also called the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. there are cardinals, of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Appointed by the pope, ...

Cardinal-Deacon A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Ca ...

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, 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 Sr. from 1969 to 1980, and for serving as a Senat ...

. "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. He was the longest-living Filipino Cardinal, until August 2024, when Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales turned 92 on August 10, making Sanchez the second longest-lived Filipino Cardinal.

References

External links

Vatican Cardinal 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 Bishops appointed by Pope Paul VI