Robert Fortune Sanchez

Robert Fortune Sanchez (March 20, 1934 – January 20, 2012) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico from 1974 to 1993.

Biography

Early life Robert Sanchez was born on March 20, 1934, in Socorro, New Mexico, the son of Julius Caesar Sanchez and Priscilla Fortune. As a teenager Sanchez felt a religious calling to the Catholic priesthood and entered the Immaculate Heart Seminary of the Archdiocese to this end, completing his college studies at St. Michael's College, now the Santa Fe University of Art and Design. Showing great promise, he was sent to study theology at the Pontifical North American College in Rome.

Priesthood Sanchez was ordained to the priesthood at the North American College for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe on December 20, 1959, by Archbishop Martin John O'Connor.

After his ordination, Archbishop Edwin Byrne assigned Sanchez to a pastoral role at a parish in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He also served in several positions in a local Catholic high school, for which he earned a teaching certificate from the University of New Mexico in 1964. Sanchez earned a degree in canon law as well from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He went on to serve in various positions of leadership in the archdiocese, including that of vicar general.

Archbishop of Santa Fe Pope Paul VI appointed Sanchez as archbishop of Santa Fe on July 1, 1974. He was the first Hispanic to be named an archbishop of the Catholic Church in the United States. He was consecrated at the Albuquerque Sports Stadium in Albuquerque on July 25, 1974 by Archbishop Jean Jadot. He was assisted in this by Bishop Patrick Flores.

In the early 1990s, several women came forth, accusing the archbishop of having been sexually involved with them. Sanchez admitted to the affairs. He was also criticized for alleged failures to act on priests of the Archdiocese who were accused of abusing children.

Resignation and death Sanchez resigned as archbishop of Santa Fe on April 6 1993. In 1995, it was reported that he returned to New Mexico to visit family and, in 1997, he led a retreat for priests in Tucson, Arizona. Later, he moved back to the southwest to live with the retired Friars Minor of the region, not making any public appearances, until 2009 when he was transferred to a facility for patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

Sanchez died on January 20, 2012, at age 77. He is buried at Saint Francis of Assisi, Cathedral Basilica in Santa Fe.