Ven. Fulton J. Sheen

For "Fun With Saints", I prefer to feature those who have been declared 'Blessed' or canonized as 'Saints' in the Catholic Church. Every once in a while, I will write about someone who is merely 'Venerable.' Today I will make that exception because it was announced today that this Venerable will be Beatified on December 21. 

Ven. Fulton J. Sheen was born in Illinois on May 8, 1895. He was baptized Peter John Sheen. He took the name Fulton which was his Mother's maiden name. He was ordained to the Priesthood in September 1919, and then attended The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, for his doctorate in philosophy. Fr. Sheen served as an Associate Pastor of a Parish for a year and then as a Pastor for 9 months before returning to Catholic University to teach Philosophy. In 1929, Sheen gave a speech at the National Catholic Educational Association. He encouraged teachers to "educate for a Catholic Renaissance" in the United States. Sheen was hoping that Catholics would become more influential in their country through education, which would help attract others to the faith. He believed that Catholics should "integrate" their faith into the rest of their daily life. (Sounds like Vatican II thinking to me.) A popular instructor, he wrote his first book in 1925 and began a weekly radio broadcast in 1930.

Fulton Sheen was consecrated a Bishop in 1951 and served as Auxilary Bishop of the Archdiocese of New York for the next 14 years. In February 1952, he began a weekly television program on the DuMont Television Network. The program consisted of the unpaid Sheen simply speaking in front of a live audience without a script or cue cards, occasionally using a chalkboard. The show did surprisingly well and the number of stations carrying "Life is Worth Living" jumped from 3 to 15 in just 2 months. Sheen won an Emmy Award for the show and paid tribute to his writers, "Matthew, Mark, Luke and John." The show ran until 1957, drawing as many as 30 million viewers on a weekly basis.

In 1966 he was made Bishop of Rochester where he served for three years until his retirement. After his retirement, Sheen was appointed Archbishop of the titular see of Newport, Wales. This ceremonial position left him time to continue his extensive writing. Archbishop Sheen wrote 73 books and numerous articles and columns.

Soon after open heart surgery, Archbishop Sheen died on December 9, 1979 in his private chapel. The Diocese of Peoria announced today that Venerable Fulton Sheen will be beatified Dec. 21 at the city's Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception. (Road trip anyone?)