“It is also providential that this year, on 24 September, in Saint Louis Missouri, a renowned National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States of America, the Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, will be beatified. Archbishop Sheen was a light of faith, hope, and love that shone through the radio and television media for decades. I myself am a witness of his evangelization when I was growing up. His broadcasts touched millions with the hope of the Gospel and his initiatives and efforts resulted in enormous spiritual and material aid to the Churches in areas of first evangelization. May our new Blessed be an example for all of the National and Diocesan Directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies throughout the world.”
– Address of Pope Leo XIV to Participants in the General Assembly of the Pontifical Mission Societies
I hope that you have already heard about the upcoming (on Thursday, Sept. 24) beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. I had been planning to write about this important moment for our Church and especially for the Church in the United States. It is exciting to know that that a bishop who preached and visited our Diocese of Paterson more than several times will soon be beatified. Then, on this past Friday, I received a notification from the USCCB that Bishop John O. Barres, the bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre had just published (on Sept. 8) a Pastoral Letter on The Beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen and the Mission of the Catholic Church in the 21st Century. In the Introduction Bishop Barres writes the following:
“… the beatification is a moment of grace that invites each of us to contemplate anew the life and sanctity of Archbishop Sheen. It also serves as a providential summons to rediscover enduring truths that his teaching so powerfully illuminated, especially the missionary nature of the Church and the beauty of the Catholic priesthood.” The Beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
I will share a few thoughts, personal reflections and recommendations, but my strongest recommendation is that you read Bishop Barres’ beautifully written and inspiring Pastoral Letter. Bishop Barres insightfully summarizes the life, teaching, and contributions of Archbishop Sheen. He also invites the reader to reflect on the current relevancy of Archbishop Sheen’s promotion of “the missionary nature of the Church” and the opportunity for a “Renewal of 21st Century Contemplative Catholic Missiology.” Finally, Bishop Barres offers a wonderful reminder of Archbishop Sheen’s teaching on the meaning of a vocation to Priesthood and his love for and dedication to the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.
I had heard about Archbishop Sheen as I was growing up, but he was “before my time.” In an excellent biography, available on the website of the Catholic University of America, where Archbishop (then Msgr.) Sheen was a faculty member from 1927-1950, we learn:
By the time Monsignor Sheen left Catholic University in 1950 to become the national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, he was already one of the most well-known Catholics of his time. The next chapter of his mission would catapult him to unprecedented fame and influence.
He was consecrated a bishop on June 11, 1951. In the Fall of that year, he began his famous television series, Life is Worth Living. It was a tremendous success, eventually reaching an estimated 30 million viewers each week, which would make it the most widely viewed religious series in the history of television. He won an Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Television Personality, was featured on the cover of Time Magazine, and became one of the most influential Catholics of the 20th century. Biography of Fulton J. Sheen
Archbishop Sheen once wrote, “Any book which inspires us to lead a better life is a good book.” The “book” of his life has inspired many evangelists. In our own diocese, I know that Bishop Sheen was an inspiration to the young Arthur Serratelli, our Bishop Emeritus. Bishop Serratelli, having watched Bishop Sheen’s Life is Worth Living television program as a boy growing up in Newark, would go on to be a gifted professor of Sacred Scripture and untiring herald of the gospel through his inspired homilies, talks, and numerous books.
I would say that I was “introduced” to Archbishop Sheen by Bishop Robert Barron through his Word on Fire apostolate and hearing him personally recounting how he had been “introduced” to Archbishop Sheen by the seminarians he taught and formed during his years as a faculty member and the Rector of Mundelein Seminary in Chicago. You can hear Bishop Barron recount this experience and articulate the reasons he calls Archbishop Sheen the “patron saint of evangelizing through the media” on a recent interview he did with EWTN.
Father Mike Schmitz is another popular and very effective “media evangelist” of our time. I am a “fan” of Father Mike’s The Bible in a Year podcast and his Sunday homilies (available on the Hallow app). He has a (12 minute) reflection, available on YouTube, with the title “Fulton Sheen Changed my Life.”
One of the experiences Father Mike describes is listening (on cassette tapes) to a retreat given to priests (in Ireland) by Archbishop Sheen. I had a similar experience in the Spring of 2020, during my first visits to Paterson, after I was named a bishop, but before being ordained and installed. Someone had given me a set of CDs with recordings of a priests’ retreat given by Archbishop Sheen. It was a blessing and, I believe, providential to be able to listen to Archbishop Sheen’s talks and reflections on numerous trips between Brooklyn and the Diocese of Paterson as part of my “transition.”
There is one talk given by Archbishop Sheen that I have listened to (and recommended) on many occasions. It is his (45 minute) talk on the “Holy Hour of (Eucharistic) Adoration,” which is available on YouTube.
I first recall recommending that talk when our diocese had a “Year of the Eucharist” and the USCCB introduced a Three-Year “Eucharistic Revival,” announced in 2021 and beginning in 2022. Bishop Barres, Bishop Barron, Father Mike Schmitz, and almost anyone who is familiar with and has listened to Archbishop Sheen know of his commitment to a daily Eucharistic Holy Hour. Whether or not you have previously listened to Archbishop Sheen speak about the importance of Eucharistic Adoration, I hope you will take the time to listen (again).
I will conclude by, again, encouraging you to read Bishop Barres’ Pastoral Letter, which concludes with a prayerful request:
“Through Archbishop Sheen’s intercession, may our priests be renewed in holiness, our seminarians strengthened in fidelity, and many generous hearts opened to the call of Christ. Finally, may the soon-to-be Blessed Fulton J. Sheen intercede for a new and creative Pentecost in Catholic missionary communications and for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the entire Church. May his witness help us proclaim the ancient Faith with renewed confidence, imagination, clarity, and love. Above all, may he teach us again that holiness and mission are inseparable.” The Beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
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Looking forward to the Beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen #Catholic –
“It is also providential that this year, on 24 September, in Saint Louis Missouri, a renowned National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States of America, the Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, will be beatified. Archbishop Sheen was a light of faith, hope, and love that shone through the radio and television media for decades. I myself am a witness of his evangelization when I was growing up. His broadcasts touched millions with the hope of the Gospel and his initiatives and efforts resulted in enormous spiritual and material aid to the Churches in areas of first evangelization. May our new Blessed be an example for all of the National and Diocesan Directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies throughout the world.”
– Address of Pope Leo XIV to Participants in the General Assembly of the Pontifical Mission Societies
I hope that you have already heard about the upcoming (on Thursday, Sept. 24) beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. I had been planning to write about this important moment for our Church and especially for the Church in the United States. It is exciting to know that that a bishop who preached and visited our Diocese of Paterson more than several times will soon be beatified. Then, on this past Friday, I received a notification from the USCCB that Bishop John O. Barres, the bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre had just published (on Sept. 8) a Pastoral Letter on The Beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen and the Mission of the Catholic Church in the 21st Century. In the Introduction Bishop Barres writes the following:
“… the beatification is a moment of grace that invites each of us to contemplate anew the life and sanctity of Archbishop Sheen. It also serves as a providential summons to rediscover enduring truths that his teaching so powerfully illuminated, especially the missionary nature of the Church and the beauty of the Catholic priesthood.” The Beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
I will share a few thoughts, personal reflections and recommendations, but my strongest recommendation is that you read Bishop Barres’ beautifully written and inspiring Pastoral Letter. Bishop Barres insightfully summarizes the life, teaching, and contributions of Archbishop Sheen. He also invites the reader to reflect on the current relevancy of Archbishop Sheen’s promotion of “the missionary nature of the Church” and the opportunity for a “Renewal of 21st Century Contemplative Catholic Missiology.” Finally, Bishop Barres offers a wonderful reminder of Archbishop Sheen’s teaching on the meaning of a vocation to Priesthood and his love for and dedication to the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.
I had heard about Archbishop Sheen as I was growing up, but he was “before my time.” In an excellent biography, available on the website of the Catholic University of America, where Archbishop (then Msgr.) Sheen was a faculty member from 1927-1950, we learn:
By the time Monsignor Sheen left Catholic University in 1950 to become the national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, he was already one of the most well-known Catholics of his time. The next chapter of his mission would catapult him to unprecedented fame and influence.
He was consecrated a bishop on June 11, 1951. In the Fall of that year, he began his famous television series, Life is Worth Living. It was a tremendous success, eventually reaching an estimated 30 million viewers each week, which would make it the most widely viewed religious series in the history of television. He won an Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Television Personality, was featured on the cover of Time Magazine, and became one of the most influential Catholics of the 20th century. Biography of Fulton J. Sheen
Archbishop Sheen once wrote, “Any book which inspires us to lead a better life is a good book.” The “book” of his life has inspired many evangelists. In our own diocese, I know that Bishop Sheen was an inspiration to the young Arthur Serratelli, our Bishop Emeritus. Bishop Serratelli, having watched Bishop Sheen’s Life is Worth Living television program as a boy growing up in Newark, would go on to be a gifted professor of Sacred Scripture and untiring herald of the gospel through his inspired homilies, talks, and numerous books.
I would say that I was “introduced” to Archbishop Sheen by Bishop Robert Barron through his Word on Fire apostolate and hearing him personally recounting how he had been “introduced” to Archbishop Sheen by the seminarians he taught and formed during his years as a faculty member and the Rector of Mundelein Seminary in Chicago. You can hear Bishop Barron recount this experience and articulate the reasons he calls Archbishop Sheen the “patron saint of evangelizing through the media” on a recent interview he did with EWTN.
Father Mike Schmitz is another popular and very effective “media evangelist” of our time. I am a “fan” of Father Mike’s The Bible in a Year podcast and his Sunday homilies (available on the Hallow app). He has a (12 minute) reflection, available on YouTube, with the title “Fulton Sheen Changed my Life.”
One of the experiences Father Mike describes is listening (on cassette tapes) to a retreat given to priests (in Ireland) by Archbishop Sheen. I had a similar experience in the Spring of 2020, during my first visits to Paterson, after I was named a bishop, but before being ordained and installed. Someone had given me a set of CDs with recordings of a priests’ retreat given by Archbishop Sheen. It was a blessing and, I believe, providential to be able to listen to Archbishop Sheen’s talks and reflections on numerous trips between Brooklyn and the Diocese of Paterson as part of my “transition.”
There is one talk given by Archbishop Sheen that I have listened to (and recommended) on many occasions. It is his (45 minute) talk on the “Holy Hour of (Eucharistic) Adoration,” which is available on YouTube.
I first recall recommending that talk when our diocese had a “Year of the Eucharist” and the USCCB introduced a Three-Year “Eucharistic Revival,” announced in 2021 and beginning in 2022. Bishop Barres, Bishop Barron, Father Mike Schmitz, and almost anyone who is familiar with and has listened to Archbishop Sheen know of his commitment to a daily Eucharistic Holy Hour. Whether or not you have previously listened to Archbishop Sheen speak about the importance of Eucharistic Adoration, I hope you will take the time to listen (again).
I will conclude by, again, encouraging you to read Bishop Barres’ Pastoral Letter, which concludes with a prayerful request:
“Through Archbishop Sheen’s intercession, may our priests be renewed in holiness, our seminarians strengthened in fidelity, and many generous hearts opened to the call of Christ. Finally, may the soon-to-be Blessed Fulton J. Sheen intercede for a new and creative Pentecost in Catholic missionary communications and for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the entire Church. May his witness help us proclaim the ancient Faith with renewed confidence, imagination, clarity, and love. Above all, may he teach us again that holiness and mission are inseparable.” The Beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
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