Long before Fr. Mike Schmitz’s Bible in a Year podcast or Bishop Barron’s Word on Fire ministry, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen (1895-1979) was evangelizing U.S. Catholics using radio and television in new and effective ways.  His life shines as a striking example of a faithful shepherd with a true missionary heart. This September, his life and legacy will receive even greater attention and honor as the Church declares him Blessed.

Born in El Paso, Il., Peter John (who later went by his mother’s maiden name, Fulton) Sheen was raised in a faithful Catholic home. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Peoria in September of 1919.

Sheen’s early priestly work took him abroad to complete a doctorate in philosophy at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium in 1923. Upon his return to the United States, he taught theology and philosophy at the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. from 1927-50.

Beginning in 1930, Sheen hosted a weekly Sunday night radio broadcast called The Catholic Hour. Four million people tuned in weekly to listen to his program for close to two decades. After his appointment as an Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of New York in 1951, Sheen moved from radio to television, launching a new series titled Life is Worth Living. This show, which aired every Tuesday at 8 p.m., quickly became one of the most popular television shows on air, even winning an Emmy Award for “Most Outstanding Television Personality” in 1953. Life is Worth Living ran for six years and boasted as many as 30 million weekly viewers.

Given those numbers, it’s clear that Catholics weren’t the only viewers tuning in to watch. Life is Worth Living drew a wide audience that included Protestant and Jewish viewers. By addressing eternal truths through everyday experiences, Sheen was able to communicate with people from disparate backgrounds. 

Although most well-known for his radio and television programs, Fulton Sheen was a masterful evangelist. In 1950, he was appointed the National Director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. In this role he raised millions of dollars to support international missions, sharing the faith with people worldwide. He held this role until 1966, before being appointed the bishop of Rochester, N.Y. In 1969, Sheen resigned as bishop of New York and was then appointed a titular archbishop (not connected to a diocese) by Pope Paul VI, giving him the ability to continue his preaching and evangelistic work up until the end of his life. 

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The Mass for the Beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen will be held in St. Louis on Thursday, Sept. 24, with Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle presiding. Information about the beatification and a schedule of events leading up to and following it (organized by the Diocese of Peoria) can be found at celebratesheen.com.