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Jos茅 Mariano S谩nchez, Ph.D.: 1932-2022

10/31/2022

Jos茅 Mariano S谩nchez, Ph.D., a professor emeritus of history at Saint 浪花直播 University, died at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico on Sept. 29, 2022. He was 89.

After grade school and high school in Santa Fe, S谩nchez graduated from Saint 浪花直播 University in 1954 with a degree in history. He discovered a love of teaching during two years of military service.

S谩nchez earned an M.A. in history from Saint 浪花直播 University in 1957 and a Ph.D. in European history from the University of New Mexico in 1961.

S谩nchez taught history at Saint 浪花直播 University from 1960 until his retirement in 2004. He was promoted to full professor in 1969 and served as chair of the department from 1971 to 1974.

His study of Pius XII and the Holocaust won recognition, and S谩nchez was offered an all-expenses paid invitation to participate in a prestigious international conference on the topic at the Sorbonne. He published several well-received books, including: 

• Reform and Reaction: The Politico-Religious Background of the Spanish Civil War (1964)
• Anticlericalism: A Brief History (1972)
• The Spanish Civil War as a Religious Tragedy (1987)
• Pius XII and the Holocaust (2002)
• Pope Gabriel: A Counterfactual History (2006)

He also published articles on Vatican relations with Spain and issues of academic freedom, as well as a vivid account of his years in a Christian Brothers grade school in Santa Fe. 

S谩nchez was a gifted teacher, whose courses on Western Civilization, Twentieth Century European History, Spain, and the Spanish Civil War won the admiration of thousands of students for his knowledge, his wit, and his personal concern for them. Each year SLU鈥檚 Department of History honors the outstanding teaching assistant with the Jos茅 S谩nchez  Teaching Award.

S谩nchez and his wife, Carol, raised their five children in St. Roch鈥檚 Parish in St. 浪花直播 before moving to Santa Fe to be closer to family.

鈥淪谩nchez was an exemplary teacher, colleague, mentor, and friend,鈥� said Daniel Schlafly, Ph.D., professor emeritus of history. 鈥淗is 44 years at Saint 浪花直播 University embodied the highest ideals of our Catholic and Jesuit mission.鈥� 

He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother, his sisters, Carol, his wife of 65 years, and his daughter Clara. S谩nchez is survived by his children, Manuel (Susan), Maria, Leonora (Brian) and Rodrigo; three grandchildren, a great-grandchild, and numerous nieces and nephews.

A funeral was held on Oct. 24 at Cristo Rey Church in Santa Fe. Fr. R. Bentley Anderson, S.J., a former colleague at Saint 浪花直播 University, presided.