The Catholic Herald puts Jonathan J Sanford, President of the University of Dallas in Texas, under interrogation.
What’s your favourite Bible verse?
John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus is, as St. Justin Martyr calls him, the true philosopher. Revealing to us the way to follow, the truth about ourselves, the world, and God, and the ultimate source of our lives.
Which church or cathedral has the most meaning to you?
The Basilica of our Lady of Gaudalupe in Mexico Ciry. We go there to look upon our Mother, and find that she has been gazing upon us.
Who has been your greatest spiritual influence?
St Thomas Aquinas.
Who is your favourite saint or pope?
It has to be a tie between St Joseph and St John Paul II.
What holy music do you return to?
Gregorian chant.
Where would you like to go on pilgrimage, and who would be your companion?
I would like to return to Mexico City to visit again with Our Lady of Guadalupe. I have been blessed to visit Rome several times, and will return again to visit more of the holy places there. It is my great hope eventually to go the Holy Land. My remarkably generous and adventurous wife has been my companion on my pilgrimages thus far, and, God willing, on those to come. We both would love to take some if not all of our nine children and many grandchildren on pilgrimage with us.
How has your faith shaped your work or career?
My work as president has brought the many other facets of my career to a point of particular focus in which I am able to promote the good work of many others through my efforts.
What book most influenced you at college?
Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics.
What is on your reading list?
Josef Pieper’s Leisure: the Basis of Culture; Dietrich von Hildebrand’s The Art of Living; Iain McGihlcrist’s The Master and His Emissary; II-II of St Thomas Aquinas’s Summa theologiae and Jane Austen’s Emma.
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