PHL officials in Rome hold requiem Mass for Cardinal Sanchez

Philippine officials in Rome held a requiem Mass for the late Jose Cardinal Sanchez last March 17 at the Basilica di Santa Pudenziana at Via Urbana in Rome, the Philippine Embassy to the Holy See said.   Ambassador Mercedes Tuazon organized the Mass attended by members of different religious congregations and the Filipino community’s church-based organizations, as well as Ambassador to Italy Virgilio Reyes Jr. and his wife.   “Msgr. Jerry Bitoon of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples presided over the requiem Mass while other Filipino priests led by Sentro Pilipino Chaplain Father Romeo Velos concelebrated the Mass,” the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a news release.    The DFA said requiem Mass was held on what would have been Sanchez's 92nd birthday.   Sanchez, the first Filipino cardinal appointed by the Pope to head a dicastery in the Vatican’s Roman Curia, died before dawn of March 9.   He was laid to rest at the crypt of Novaliches Cathedral in Quezon City on March 12.   Sanchez served as a priest for over 65 years, a bishop of over 43 years and a cardinal for more than 20 years.   While he had been staying in Rome, he returned to the Philippines to support the campaign against the reproductive health bill.   On January 12, 1986, Sanchez was appointed as Archbishop of Nueva Segovia. In 1985, he was appointed as Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.   In this position, he became instrumental in the propagation of the late Pope John Paul II’s encyclical, Redemptoris Missio.   From July 1, 1991 to June 15, 1996, he became Prefect for the Congregation of the Clergy and concurrently served as President of the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church.   He became a Cardinal on June 28, 1991 after six years at the Propaganda Fide and was given the title of San Pio V a Villa Carpegna by Pope John Paul II. - VVP, GMA News