In memoriam, Jose Cardinal Sanchez

By Francisco Kit Tatad, 9 March 2021

IT IS WITH PROFOUND SORROW that we

mourn the passing of our beloved Mamo, His Eminence Jose Cardinal Sanchez. And it is with genuine faith and hope that we believe he is now with our Lord in Heaven. He loved the Church, the family and the priesthood so deeply that until the very last his thoughts and words were always about themhow more Catholics could live their faith as the Church wants them to; how the Filipino family could be saved from the scourge that has destroyed the family in Europe and many other parts of the world; how more young men would be attracted to the dignity and beauty of the priesthood. He so identified himself with the suffering and passion of our Lord that many times during Mass, which he always celebrated with great solemnity, he would find it difficult to pronounce the words of consecration without almost literally breaking down. His eyes would fill with tears, his voice choke and tremble, and he would have to pause long and hard to regain control of his emotions before he could go on.

cleric and so far the only one to have served in the Roman Curia as head of a dicastery, where he stayed until his retirement. Inside his apartment near St. Peters, where he joyfully welcomed his friends and guests all the time, he told the most moving anecdotes about Blessed John Paul II. He saw the saintly pope as a tireless workaholic, who refused to be slowed down by age, fatigue or illness, but worked himself for the Church like a candle burning on both ends. When Blessed John Paul II died, my wife and I instantly flew to Rome to pay our last respects to the Pope, who had received us in many audiences, including a couple of private masses inside his papal apartments. There was literally no room for us in any inn. But His Eminence sent Sister Mary, his loyal sister-secretary, to meet us at the airport and offer us a room in his apartment.

Rome was bursting at the seams. Millions of pilgrims from Poland and all over the world filled the streets, making it impossible for anyone to move around. It took those crowds ten to 17 hours, He loved the Pope with all his heart especially the present Pope Benedict XVI inching their way from outside the Vatand his predecessor Blessed John Paul II, ican walls, to get inside St. Peters Basilica and have a passing glimpse of who had called him to the Vatican and made him Secretary of Propaganda Fide, the Popes body inside. But just by walking with the Cardinal from his apartment or the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, before making him Card- to St. Peters, my wife and I were able to get past the cordon in a few minutes and inal and Prefect of the Congregation of the Clergy. He was the first Filipino

pray beside the catafalque for more than one hour. We stayed with His Eminence throughout the papal wake and burial and through the papal conclave to elect the new Pope. He could no longer participate in the conclave, having reached past the age (80) when cardinals could participate in the election of the Pope. But he got regular visits from Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, then Archbishop of Cebu, who was in the conclave. Cardinals are sworn to secrecy on what goes on during a conclave, so they could not talk about it, even after the event. But as we chatted with his brotherCardinal, I asked His Eminence who, he thought, had the best chance of getting elected pope. Without any hesitation, His Eminence replied that if the election did not take all that long, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who was the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, would most probably be elected pope, being already known to all the other cardinals. And with great insight, His Eminence added that if Ratzinger was elected, he would probably take the name of Benedict, the patron saint of Europe, and dedicate his pontificate primarily to the rechristianization of Europe, which had lost so much of its Christian faith. All that came to pass within days. The Cardinal stayed on in Rome, despite his annual pilgrimage to the Feast of Our Lady of Penafrancia in Naga City, and his repeated statements that he would finally retire in the Philippines. His heart

seemed torn between two lovesthe eternal city and home. But he finally came home. His constant prayer was that Europes loss of its Christian faith would never happen in the Philippines. 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. So from his home with the Dominican Sisters of Mary Immaculate in Fairview, Novaliches, he continued his ministry, teaching the Sisters and saying a Sunday afternoon mass regularly at the Good Shepherd Cathedral under Bishop Antonio Tobias. Until he lost his speech, he spoke of love and forgiveness. When I visited him at his sickbed last, I held his hand and told him he had done so much for God and His Church, and that our Father in Heaven must be looking forward to giving him his final reward. I could see the end was near, and around his face shone a great light. I ask for forgiveness, he said, and I want to forgive all, to forgive all, from the bottom of my heart. And then as though in the deepest prayer he closed his eyes. He finally went to God at 4.30 am today, Friday, 9 March 2012. For giving us this saintly pastor, we thank the Lord, Deo gratias!