As host of the weekly program Life is Worth Living, Bishop Sheen won an Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Television Personality in 1953. “I feel it is time I pay tribute to my four writers — Matthew, Mark, Luke and John,” he said in his acceptance speech.
Welcome to "The Venerables": Holy men and women in the United States, in some cases little-known, who are on the road to sainthood. The road to sainthood has four steps: "Servant of God," "Venerable," "Blessed," and "Saint." The Pope grants the title "Venerable" after a review confirms the individual has lived a life of heroic virtue. The next step, beatification, requires the verification of a miracle attributed to their intercession.
By Kimberly Bruce
An 8-year-old altar boy dropped a wine curet that shattered on the floor during Holy Mass. The bishop, whom he was assisting, spoke a prophecy over the frightened young boy when Mass was finished. One day you will study at the Louvain in Belgium, he said, and “someday you will be just as I am.”
The young altar server that day was the future Venerable Archbishop Fulton John Sheen. His bishop was Bishop John L. Spalding of Peoria, Illinois (1877-1908).
The prophesy came true, and then some. Venerable Sheen became a television pioneer/evangelist, archbishop, author of more than 70 books, teacher, and supporter of Catholic missions. Declared “Venerable Servant of God” in 2012 for his life of “heroic virtue,” Archbishop Sheen’s cause for canonization is under way.
Love of learning
Born Peter John Sheen on May 8, 1895, in El Paso, Illinois, the eldest of four sons, Peter began using his mother’s maiden name, “Fulton,” upon entering elementary school. A smart boy who loved to read books, Fulton attended Spalding Institute and went on to study at St. Viator College.
Desiring to become a priest, Fulton attended St. Paul Seminary in Minnesota and was ordained at 24 on Sept. 20, 1919. Continuing his studies at the Catholic University of America, in Washington, D.C., he switched schools after a year to attend the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium, as Bishop Spalding had predicted. Here, Fr. Sheen was able to pursue advanced studies in philosophy and obtained his doctorate.
Father Sheen returned to the U.S. five years later and began teaching philosophy at Catholic University, where he remained for over two decades. There he honed his natural skills as an orator and communicator.
In 1926, Fr. Sheen he was invited to record a Lenten sermon series for a New York radio station. This led to filling in on The Catholic Hour radio program, and he became a regular speaker for the next 20 years.
In 1950, now-Monsignor Sheen left his teaching post to become the National Director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. He proved to be a master fundraiser, raising millions of dollars for Catholic missions around the world, traveling widely throughout the U.S. giving retreats, talks, and commencement addresses.
Television star
Ordained a bishop and assigned as an auxiliary to the Archdiocese of New York in 1951, Bishop Sheen embarked on a new ministry in 1952: a television program that catapulted him to new heights in the media world. Life is Worth Living, his weekly program, became the most widely-viewed religious television series in history.
He even won an Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Television Personality in 1953. “I feel it is time I pay tribute to my four writers — Matthew, Mark, Luke and John,” he said in his acceptance speech. He also made the cover of Time magazine.
Bishop Sheen had an exceptional gift for communication. He inspired countless souls to conversion and reversion to the Catholic faith by his wit, philosophical prowess, and ability to present truth in such a way that falsehood could no more be seen as true. “The love of Christ is neither to be feared nor to be rejected; rather, it is to be received and accepted with an open heart," he said.
He worked alongside Fr. Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, during the Second Vatican Council. “Fulton Sheen … would fascinate us in the evenings with his talks,” the Holy Father later recalled.
Prayer life
In 1966, Pope St. Paul VI appointed Bishop Sheen to lead the diocese of Rochester, New York, where he served for three years. In 1969 he was named archbishop of the titular see of Newport, Wales, a ceremonial position that allowed him to devote more time to what he loved best: writing and preaching.
No matter his fame, Archbishop Sheen remained deeply committed to prayer. He had a great devotion to the Mother of God, and spent an hour before Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament every day.
“One of his greatest gifts was his example of prayer, preaching and teaching —especially his prayer before the Eucharist,” noted Bishop Daniel Jenky of Peoria. “He constantly preached that, even for the most hardworking priest, the most important time would be the time he spends in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.”
Truly, Archbishop Sheen understood the importance of making time to go before Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, as did St. Faustina:
I will not allow myself to be so absorbed in the whirlwind of work as to forget about God. I will spend all my free moments at the feet of the Master hidden in the Blessed Sacrament (Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, 82).
Death and controversy
On Oct. 2, 1979, Pope St. John Paul II met and embraced Archbishop Sheen in St. Patrick’s Cathedral (below), telling him: “You have written and spoken well of the Lord Jesus. You are a loyal son of the Church!” Two months later, on Dec. 9, he died.
Declared Venerable on Jun. 28, 2012, by Pope Benedict XVI, Archbishop Sheen was due to be beatified in 2019, but at the last moment it was put on hold due to allegations of clergy abuse, stemming from his time in Rochester.
A thorough review was conducted of every allegation. “Not only has nothing been found to impugn Sheen, but I think his heroic virtues have been confirmed,” reported Msgr. Jason Gray, executive director of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation. “As I would like to say, Sheen is clean — and we can prove that.”
A miracle attributed to Archbishop Sheen was approved by the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of the Saints in 2014. It involved a stillborn baby, dead for 61 minutes, who returned to life after the baby’s parents called upon the Venerable’s intercession.
Venerable Sheen’s programs can still be watched on the EWTN television network. His words have as much, if not greater, meaning for us in the 21st century. For truth never changes, and one’s ability to charitably and effectively articulate it to the listener is a gift that withstands time.
Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, pray for us!
To learn more, visit the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation: celebratesheen.com
{shopmercy-ad}
