Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Father Andrew Apostoli, C.F.R., Vice-Postulator, Cause of Canonization of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, wrote this foreword to Archbishop Sheen’s book, Life of Christ:

“The Archbishop also possessed a gift for communicating with others. Another great American evangelist, Billy Graham, once called him “the Great Communicator.”

Not only did he maintain a listening audience of about 4 million people for some twenty years with his weekly radio program, The Catholic Hour, but he achieved phenomenal success with his television series Life Is Worth Living. His weekly live program ran for a half hour, and it was intentionally placed side by side with the man who was called “Mr. Television,” Milton Berle.

Those who invited Archbishop Sheen to present his television program did not think he would do very well against Milton Berle. But within six months, more people were watching the Archbishop’s program than were watching Milton Berle for that first half hour. The Archbishop eventually reached an estimated 30 million viewers. He even won an Emmy in 1952 as the “Most Outstanding Personality on Television.” At the awards ceremony, many before him were thanking their producers, directors, and scriptwriters. When the Archbishop received his Emmy, he humorously remarked, “I would like to thank my scriptwriters: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John!”

But perhaps the quality that makes Archbishop Sheen’s Life of Christ so outstanding is the fact that he was a man with a reputation for great holiness. It is one thing to understand the life and message of a person, another thing to be able to tell others about it, but it is most significant if one can live that message, especially to an outstanding degree. This is precisely why Archbishop Sheen’s life has been promoted for possible sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church. Saints are men and women who imitated Jesus Christ and lived His Gospel message to a heroic degree. Saints get to know the Gospel from the inside, so to speak, rather than merely as outward observers.”

The great Bishop Fulton Sheen was born in El Paso, Illinois. It’s hard to believe that such an insignificant town could produce a saint! He was born in 1895 and baptized 4 days later. He was the oldest of four boys and was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary by his mother. At a young age, he was recognized as intellectually gifted, was class valedictorian, and then entered seminary formation. He was ordained a priest on September 20, 1919, for the Peoria Diocese at the diocesan Cathedral. Coincidentally, this is where he served as an altar boy and is where he is entombed.

His superiors sent him to the University of Louvain in Belgium in the 1920s to obtain a Doctorate in Philosophy, writing his doctoral thesis on "The Spirit of Contemporary Philosophy and the Finite God." The University of Louvain is a quiet Catholic university known for its academic rigor, but there is little evidence that Fulton Sheen studied there. What I remember most is that many of the buildings were rebuilt after the World Wars with American money from dioceses and fraternal organizations like the Knights of Columbus. Fulton Sheen was a busy man, particularly in the 1950s. In 1950, he became the national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, a post that he held for 16 years. At the same time, he continued to host radio and television programs, building a reputation as a clear, engaging communicator while also working as a professor at the Catholic University of America. He succeeded because he avoided heavy academic jargon. He focused on universal human questions before tying them back to faith, which attracted non-Catholics as well. At his zenith, he had an audience of over 30 million souls!

Blessed Sheen was consecrated an auxiliary bishop in New York City on June 11, 1951. In the Fall of that year, he began his famously successful television series, Life is Worth Living. To date, it is the most widely-viewed religious series in the history of television that has two props—a chalkboard and chalk!

But first and foremost, Blessed Fulton was a man of deep and abiding prayer. He once said that “It's impossible to lose your footing in life when you're on your knees!” And truly, he practiced what he preached, even dying in his private chapel while praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

At his recent beatification, nearly 50,000 Catholics from around the world attended, including 800 seminarians, 1000 priests, almost 100 Bishops, and countless religious women and deacons. The procession alone boasted over 3,000 participants and was 40 minutes long! There were many Catholic families in attendance who clearly have a devotion to the new saint. It was grand and a fitting tribute to this small-town boy who made good. In his humility, I believe he would have been amazed and humbled by the Mass.

Fulton Sheen’s beatification was realized by the recognized miracle of James Fulton Engstrom. He was born without signs of life but miraculously recovered after 61 minutes without a pulse while his family prayed to Fulton Sheen. I don’t believe that 61 minutes was coincidental. It reminds us that Blessed Fulton encountered the Lord through his daily 60-minute Eucharistic Holy Hours. Only when the hour was complete did the response to their prayers occur. In that 61st minute, the baby, little James Fulton, was cured. Now he is a teenager, strong enough to carry a reliquary that held the Blessed’s jaw, which often preached the Good News to the Earth’s ends.

In addition to watching Blessed Fulton on the internet, he also wrote 66 books, the best of which, in the opinion of his many devotees, is thought to be Life of Christ. So, Holy God, we praise You for Blessed Fulton Sheen! May he serve as an amazing role model so desperately needed by many these days!

God Bless.

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Prayer for the Canonization of Blessed Fulton J. Sheen

Heavenly Father, source of all holiness, You raise up within the Church in every age men and women who serve with heroic love and dedication. You have blessed Your Church through the life and ministry of Your faithful servant, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. He has written and spoken well of Your Divine Son, Jesus Christ, and was a true instrument of the Holy Spirit in touching the hearts of countless people. If it be according to Your Will, for the honor and glory of the Most Holy Trinity and for the salvation of souls, we ask You to move the Church to proclaim him a saint. We ask this prayer through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

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