Paul Robert Sanchez, (born November 26, 1946) is an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

who served as an

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

for the Diocese of Brooklyn in New York City from 2012 to 2022.

Biography

Early life

Paul Sanchez was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, on November 26, 1946. He attended St. Vincent Ferrer High School in Manhattan, Cathedral Preparatory Seminary in Queens, New York, and Cathedral College of the Immaculate Conception in Douglaston, New York. Sanchez then entered

St. Bonaventure University St. Bonaventure University is a private university, private Franciscan university in St. Bonaventure, New York. It has 2,760 undergraduate and graduate students. The Order of Friars Minor, Franciscans established the university in 1858. In ath ...

in Saint Bonaventure, New York.

Priesthood

Sanchez was ordained into the priesthood by then Bishop James Hickey for the Diocese of Brooklyn on December 17, 1971. Sanchez holds a

Bachelor of Sacred Theology The Bachelor of Sacred Theology (abbreviated STB) is the first of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the second being the Licentiate in Sacred Theology and the third being the Doctorate in Sacred Theology) which are conferred by a number o ...

degree and a

Licentiate in Sacred Theology Licentiate in Sacred Theology (; abbreviated LTh or STL) is the second of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the first being the Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology and the third being the Doctorate in Sacred Theology) which are conferred ...

from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Sanchez also served as the

episcopal vicar Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United States ...

of Queens. He also earned a Master of Liturgical Studies degree from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

in Indiana. Sanchez's pastoral assignments in New York City included: * Parochial vicar of Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Forest Hills, St. Michael Parish in

Flushing Flushing may refer to: Places Netherlands * Flushing, Netherlands, an English name for the city of Vlissingen, Netherlands United Kingdom * Flushing, Cornwall, a village in Cornwall, England * The Flushing, a building in Suffolk, England ...

, and St. Sebastian Parish in Woodside * Pastor of St. Agatha Parish in Brooklyn and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Queens

Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn

Sanchez was appointed titular bishop of Coeliana and auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn on May 2, 2012, by

Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, his resignation on 28 Februar ...

. He was consecrated by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio on July 11, 2012. As auxiliary bishop, Sanchez also served as the pastor of Our Lady, Queen of Martyrs Parish in Forest Hills. Sanchez was an adjunct instructor of theology at Saint John's University and the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, New York.

Retirement

On reaching age 75, Sanchez sent a letter of retirement as auxiliary bishop of Brooklyn to

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

. The pope accepted his retirement on March 30, 2022.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn Official Site

Episcopal succession

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Bishops A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Living people Pontifical Gregorian University alumni University of Notre Dame alumni Bishops appointed by Pope Benedict XVI Religious leaders from Brooklyn