Bells rang from the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi on Friday afternoon for Archbishop Robert Fortune Sanchez, the nation's first Hispanic archbishop. Sanchez died in Albuquerque of complications from Alzheimer's disease. He was 77.

Sanchez had been living in the Casa San Juan Diego, a retirement home for Franciscan priests in Albuquerque's East Valley until two years ago when he was transferred to a nursing home for Alzheimer's patients.

After two decades at the head of New Mexico's largest Catholic diocese, Sanchez resigned in March 1993 after three women accused him of being sexually involved with them in the 1970s and early 1980s when they were teenagers. Critics also said that he didn't do enough to discipline priests accused of sexual misconduct.

But he was revered by many who describe him as kind and devoted to his faith.

"He was a very compassionate and caring man. He always cared about every single person and was a great inspiration for my own vocation," said Rev. Adam Lee Ortega y Ortiz, pastor at Santa Maria de la Paz Catholic Community in Santa Fe. Ortega y Ortiz was the last priest ordained by Sanchez in June 1992.

Sanchez told priests such as Ortega y Ortiz that a church should be a place that welcomes people and a place where the priest gives his faith a personal touch.

"I am a greater priest knowing that I knew this man," Ortega y Ortiz said.

Diego Mazon, a retired Franciscan priest who lived at Casa San Juan Diego with Sanchez for several years, said the former bishop was appreciated by the Native American community because "he treated them like loving people."

Sanchez established an Office for Native American Ministry and ordained the first Native American bishop in the U.S., Donald Pelotte (now deceased), the bishop of the Diocese of Gallup.

Mazon, who is part American Indian, said Sanchez always tried to reach out to the tribal nations and that most people were willing to overlook allegations of misconduct against him.

Of the charges of sexual wrongdoing, Mazon said, "He never did talk about it. He would just say, 'The lord will take care of it.' He was not angry."

Sister Kateri Mitchell, executive director of the Tekakwitha Conference, a national religious organization devoted to the first Native American saint, Kateri Tekakwitha, said Sanchez backed their plan to make the organization a national institution in 1980.

"He was extremely supportive in his presence and in his words," Mitchell said from the conference's headquarters in Great Falls, Mont.

Sanchez put Hispanic ministry at the forefront of the Catholic Church, noted Msgr. Jerome Martinez y Alire, rector of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.

Martinez y Alire described Sanchez as "dynamic leader" and a "gentle shepherd." When the HIV/AIDS epidemic began to spread in the U.S., Sanchez wrote a letter to all parishioners, letting them know that they should still "respond to [victims] as brothers and sisters ... it was pioneering," Martinez y Alire said. "He always wanted to make room and time for everyone. When you spoke to him, you had his total and undivided attention."

Among his accomplishments, Sanchez is credited for helping establish the New Mexico Conference of Catholic Bishops. He served on numerous boards and committees, such as the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio, the Mexican American Cultural Center, the Bishops' Committee for Hispanic Affairs (where he was instrumental in writing the United States Catholic Bishops' Pastoral Letter on Hispanics in the United States) and the Bishops' Commission on Family Life. He was also appointed by Pope John Paul II to the Vatican's Commission on Immigration Affairs.

In the archdiocese he implemented a marriage policy that required teenagers wanting to get married to undergo four months of counseling and he also brought back the religious significance to the Fiestas de Santa Fe which honor Our Lady of Peace.

The death of the former archbishop also elicits painful memories for those who have been abused by clergy, said Mike Knellinger, director of the Albuquerque Survivors' Network of those Abused by Priests.

Knellinger is currently working with three adults who claim they were sexually molested by New Mexico priests when they were children. He previously worked with SNAP in Ohio before coming to Albuquerque and said that the culture in New Mexico and the state's deeply rooted Catholic tradition contribute to many victims' silence.

In a news release sent out by the Archdiocese of Santa Fe on Friday afternoon announcing Sanchez's death, there is no specific mention of the victims of priest abuse and Knellinger said he wishes Archbishop Michael Sheehan would have offered them his support.

Martinez y Alire, who for two years was Sanchez's personal assistant, said the scandal took a toll on Sanchez.

"It just devastated him. He felt a great responsibility for anything that he might have done that might have lessened the respect people had for the church or the priesthood. I don't think he ever got over it."

Contact Sandra Baltazar Martínez at 986-3062 or smartinez@sfnewmexican.com.

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FROM THE ARCHDIOCESE OF SANTA FE:

The Archdiocese of Santa Fe is saddened to announce the death of Archbishop Robert Fortune Sanchez who served as the 10th Archbishop of Santa Fe from 1974-1993. His family has deep roots in New Mexico with many ancestors among the first Hispanic settlers. On March 20, 1934 when Robert was born to Julius C. and Priscilla Fortune Sanchez, neither he nor his parents knew what God would call Robert to do. Robert was taught well by his parents to love God; and they made sure he received all his Sacraments.

Robert grew up in Socorro, New Mexico where he attended Mount Carmel Catholic School and Socorro High School. For a short period of time he also attended St. Mary's Boys Catholic High School in Phoenix, Arizona. He heard the call to the priesthood at a young age entering Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Santa Fe, where he attended and graduated from St. Michael's College (later known as College of Santa Fe). He continued his studies for the priesthood at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, Italy where he earned degrees in Philosophy and Theology. At the end of his studies he was ordained a Priest by Bishop Martin J. O'Connor on December 20, 1959.

Upon his return to New Mexico he was assigned to reside and assist at Our Lady of the Annunciation Parish in Albuquerque while at the same time holding many positions at St. Pius X High School. These included teacher, assistant principal and counselor. He earned his teaching certificate from the University of New Mexico in 1964. He later attended Catholic University in Washington, DC for Canon Law Studies.

In 1965 he was appointed as the Archdiocesan Director of Extension Lay Volunteers and in 1968 was a representative to the New Mexico Council of Churches' Institutional Ministry and Pastoral Care Program. Also in 1968 he was appointed Pastor of San Felipe de Neri Parish in Albuquerque. During this time he served on the Archdiocesan Personnel Board, as President of the Priest Senate, as Region X Representative to the National Federation of Priest Councils, and briefly as the Vicar General of the Archdiocese.

Pope Paul VI appointed Robert as the 10th Archbishop of Santa Fe. He was ordained as Archbishop on July 25, 1974 with over 14,000 people attending the event, making it the highest attended Episcopal ordination in history to that point in time. He was the first Hispanic Bishop in the United States and the first native priest to be appointed as a Bishop in the Southwestern United States. Archbishop Sanchez' programs implementing Hispanic Ministry, cultural preservation and the preservation of historic churches continue to be models for the Country.

Locally, Archbishop Sanchez increased outreach to the many and varied cultural communities in New Mexico. He was the first Archbishop to offer an apology to the local Native American peoples as well as to establish an Office for Native American Ministry. He ordained now deceased Bishop Donald Pelotte for the Diocese of Gallup, who was the first Native American Bishop in the United States.

Archbishop Sanchez established the first Archdiocesan Youth Conference, the first Native American Liturgy at the Cathedral, the first Ecumenical Commission of the Archdiocese, and the Commission for the Preservation of Historic New Mexico Churches. After putting together the first Archdiocesan-wide Pastoral Plan - the first west of the Mississippi River - he established the resources and offices needed at the Archdiocesan level to serve the needs of the parishes and the pastoral needs of the people of the Archdiocese. He also wrote the most comprehensive Pastoral Letter on HIV/Aids at that time.

He erected several new parishes: San Isidro y San Jose in Santa Fe; St. Jude Thaddeus in Albuquerque; Our Lady of La Vang in Albuquerque; Risen Savior Catholic Community in Albuquerque; Santuario de San Martin de Porres in Albuquerque; John XXII Catholic Community in Albuquerque; St. Joseph on the Rio Grande in Albuquerque and Santa Maria de La Paz in Santa Fe.

Together with the other Bishops of the State, Bishop Ricardo Ramirez of Las Cruces and Bishop Pelotte of Gallup, they established the New Mexico Conference of Catholic Bishops. Nationally, Archbishop Sanchez served on several boards and committees which included the Pontifical College Josephinum, the Pontifical North American College, the Mexican American Cultural Center, the Bishops' Committee for Hispanic Affairs (where he was instrumental in writing the United Stated Catholic Bishops' Pastoral Letter on Hispanics in the United States); the Bishops' Commission on Family Life representing the Bishops of the United States at the Synod on the Mission of the Family at the Vatican in 1980. He was also appointed by Pope John Paul II to the Vatican's Commission on Immigration Affairs.

As a result of the sexual abuse scandals, and allegations made against his own personal conduct which were brought to the forefront, he resigned as Archbishop in 1993. Many would claim that he was not as proactive as he could have been in the disciplining and expulsion of priests who were alleged of sexual misconduct. As he became ill, Archbishop Sanchez reiterated his love and blessings always for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, her priests, people and his family.

Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan stated, "Archbishop Sanchez was much loved as a native son by the people of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. He was respected by his brother Bishops and looked up to by his priests. We continue to acknowledge the good he did during his Episcopacy, are well aware of his human failings, and mourn his death today."




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