Reverend Felix Sanchez

Bishops must love their priests. The priests of a diocese are co-workers with the bishop in the vineyard of the Lord and together they sow the seeds of the Gospel. On the human level, of course, not every priest is always easy for the bishop to deal with and the reverse is equally true but the relation of the two is somewhere between that of father and son and brother and brother. In my time here, I have come to cultivate anew my love for my brothers, to appreciate their different gifts and even when there may be disagreements to be patient. But today I learned of the death of a dear priest, a “bishop’s priest,” I might say and his passing will be mourned by many more than just myself. Father Felix Sanchez, pastor emeritus of St. Joseph parish in West Tampa went home to God today on a park bench in a plaza in Salamanca, Spain on a bright, warm and beautiful morning.  Once again for me, no time to say a final thanks, no time to say good-bye. I mourn his passing and will long remember his presence.

When I came to the diocese, Father Felix was happily ensconsed as pastor of St. Rita parish in  Dade City. I do not think he ever planned or wanted to go anywhere else. He was happy and the people loved him. It was a bilingual and bi-cultural ministry.  A year after my arrival, I upset his life and asked him if he would go to St. Joseph’s parish in West Tampa to replace the Redemptorist Fathers who were leaving the diocese. He said, “Bishop, I will do anything you ask me. I love St. Rita but it would be a privilege to also serve St. Joseph. So off he went in 1997 to serve for fourteen years.

His own priestly ministry began in Spain as a member of the Vincentian Fathers, begun by St. Vincent de Paul, and their charism for the poor and marginalized never left him. He had a heart for the poor, a priestly heart.

A major moment occured soon after arriving at St. Joseph when his doctors recommended amputating his leg. I was at his side at St. Joseph Hospital when they took him on the gurney from the pre-op room to the OR. Peaceful, resigned, placing himself in the hands of the the Lord, he gave up his leg but not his dynamic and active priestly ministry. When the prosthesis was in place and hurting like the devil, he returned to full ministry at St. Joe’s and to the school children who he loved. He would never say no to a funeral home who called him because a family wished a service there or at a graveside. Worried about his health, I asked him to cease and he “yes-ed” me to death and continued to serve. I recently found out that all the gifts he received from these services went to help children attend St. Joseph’s school. St. Vincent de Paul would have been proud of him.

As I write this, we are trying to arrange a memorial Mass for Monday, October 1, at 11:30am at St. Joseph’s. He will be buried, as is the custom in Spain, on Saturday morning in Salamanca with his priest brother saying the Mass. How I wish I could be there. Rest in peace, Felix, you were simply “una linda persona.”

*11:00AM Friday, September 21 Update:  A Memorial Mass for Father Felix will be celebrated at 11:30am on October 1, 2012 at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Tampa (3012 Cherry St. Tampa, FL 33607). I will be the main celebrant. A rosary will be said at 11:00am and a reception after the Mass will be held in the parish hall.

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On Monday evening I did one of those things which no bishop ever wants to do. I along with the Superintendent of Schools and the Vicar General joined the principal of St. Joseph’s school in West Tampa for an emergency meeting with the parents of children in the school. Sister Luann Fantauzza, FMS, the principal, announced that her community was transferring her to another Salesian sisters’ school in New York. That news alone was devastating to the parent community and immediately gave birth to a full gamut of other fears (the school is closing, the sisters are all leaving, etc.) and hopefully I and others were able to allay those suspicions and fears in some manner. The meeting was chock full of genuine emotion with lots of tears, disappointment, some respectful anger. Clearly the school community loves Sister Luann and that alone was enough cause for disappointment. However, the parish is experiencing a double-whammie this Spring in that the much loved pastor, Father Felix Sanchez if also retiring from active ministry for reasons of health. So the parish is stunned and I needed to assure them that both in the rectory and the school, there would be compassion, continuity, and commitment.

Truthfully, although there had been rumors that the sisters would leave St. Joseph this summer, I did not learn definitively until around Easter that it would be the case. The provincial wrote to me and then came to see me at the end of April. I begged for the sisters to remain and it was agreed that while they might live at Villa Madonna, there would be at least two sisters for St. Joseph next year. Sister Phyllis Neves, the provincial, did emphasize that she did not have a principal to replace Sr. Luann. Father Sanchez had no idea the sisters might leave when he approached me for earlier retirement than expected either. Thus, St. Joseph’s parish was ripe for the “perfect storm” – beloved and admired pastor and principal both leaving.

All of this is happening in advance of something truly exciting to happen at St. Joseph’s school beginning with the next school year. Notre Dame has begun yet another program in education called “ACE Academy” which are Catholic schools serving poor to moderate income families. The ACE Academy designation indicates that Notre Dame is prepared to administer the schools in order to achieve two primary results: raise the educational performance of the students in these schools, while at the same time making enrollment in the schools more financially possible through the use of vouchers and programs like STEP UP FOR STUDENTS, the Florida program which provides tuition for true school choice. Notre Dame would provide an administrator to supervise the educational improvement programs in any local ACE Academies (and we are currently considering three schools for this designation) as well as an expert to assist parents in qualifying for every penny of scholarship or tuition assistance possible. There would be a school board which I would chair and which will include the pastors of any schools brought into the program. I was able along with Superintendent Alberto Vazquez-Matos to assure the parents of St. Joseph’s that their school indeed had a bright future but it was hard for the attendees to see that through the lens of the tears flowing at the news of the Principal’s departure.

Generally speaking, if Catholic education is to remain in this diocese with any future, a movement from parochial schools to diocesan schools is going to be required. The costs are exceeding the parish’s ability to maintain the schools, especially in light of diminshing enrollment. Catholic schools, if they are to continue, will require the financial support of the entire Catholic community, including parishes without schools. It is happening all over the United States and it is coming soon in all likelihood to a school near you. The Priest’s Council and the Diocesan Pastoral Council are at this time working on something of a transition model which beginning implementation will likely start with School Year 2012-2013. GOOGLE Catholic Schools and see for yourself what other local Churches are doing to meet this need.

So St. Joseph’s school will open again in August, hopefully with an increase in enrollment (something it has experienced in the last two years due to Sister Luann’s incredible effort to inform parents of the STEP UP option if they qualify) and could in a couple of years be one of the more financially stable schools in the diocese with a model enrollment. It is just a tragedy that Sister Luann and a Salesian principal will not be in place to see this dream come true. She knows of the love and admiration that the parents and children hold for her as does this bishop.

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