The Four Marian Dogmas and Mater Populi Fidelis
Blessed Fulton J. Sheen
Photo by Matt Botsford on Unsplash
“We to fulfill the desires of our brother Louis Tylka Bishop of Peoria as well as many other brothers in the Episcopate and many of the Christian faithful, having consulted the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, by our Apostolic authority, grant the faculty that the Venerable Servant of God Fulton John Sheen, Titular Archbishop of Neoportus and former Bishop of Rochester in America, a tireless preacher of the Gospel through the modern means of communication and a diligent shepherd animated by missionary zeal may henceforth be called Blessed and may be celebrated on the 9th Day of December – the day on which we was born into Heaven – in places and manner established by the law. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen” ---- Pope Leo XIV
Fulton J. Sheen was born on 8 May 1895 in El Paso, Illinois and left this world for the next on 9 December 1979 in New York City. During his extraordinarily holy life, Fulton J. Sheen served as a priest, a theologian, an auxiliary bishop, a bishop, a preacher and a missionary. He was a prolific writer and teacher of the faith. He participated in the Second Vatican Council. Through his radio and television broadcasts, Fulton Sheen brought the light of Christ’s Gospel to millions of people with an incalculable impact on their lives and their journey for salvation. He was a tireless and innovative witness to God’s love and mercy and the salvific mission of Jesus the Son of God.
Fulton Sheen was a passionate advocate for the dignity of human life and an ardent opponent of political systems like Communism and Nazism that oppress human dignity and oppose God and His Holy Church. "Sheen knew if you take God out of the picture, you take equality, rights, freedom out of the picture," said Bishop Robert Barron prior to Archbishop Sheen’s beatification. "Our integrity as a democratic society is dependent ultimately on our belief in God."
And as of 24 September 2026, Fulton J. Sheen is rightfully recognized by the Catholic Church as a Blessed. He was declared Blessed at a Mass celebrated at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Some 50,000 people including over 1,000 priests, 1,600 members of religious orders, 800 seminarians, 200 permanent deacons, 90 bishops and four cardinals attended the historic holy occasion. Many, many others watched live on television and the internet.
It is an honor long overdue.
“Among many of his virtues and ministries, two stand out: his being an evangelizer or proclaimer of the Gospel and a missionary shepherd,” said Luis Antonio Gokim Cardinal Tagle during his Homily for the Beatification Mass for Fulton J. Sheen. See https://www.causesanti.va/it/santi-e-beati/fulton-john-sheen.html
Fulton J. Sheen was featured on the cover of the 14 April 1952 issue of Time magazine. “Bishop Sheen is a unique product of two unique historic forces—the Roman Catholic Church and the United States of America,” the accompanying article stated. “Into the making of Fulton Sheen went St. Paul and Thomas Jefferson, Savonarola and George F. Babbitt.” See https://time.com/archive/6794617/bishop-fulton-sheen-the-first-televangelist/
“Archbishop Sheen was a light of faith, hope, and love that shone through the radio and television media for decades,” said Pope Leo XIV in an audience on 1 June 2026. “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.” See https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/speeches/2026/giugno/documents/20260601-pom.html
“You have written and spoken well of the Lord Jesus,” Pope Saint John Paul II told Archbishop Sheen when he embraced him in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City on 2 October 1979. “You are a loyal son of the Church.”
“Fulton Sheen has left us a great legacy,” said Bishop of Peoria, Illinois Louis Tylka during the Beatification Mass. “He fearlessly proclaimed the Gospel in challenging cultural times. He supported the Church’s missions throughout the world. He won tens of thousands of converts and preached to millions. His time of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament was the source of his insight into the Son of God. He used every gift God gave him for one purpose: to bring people to Christ. And his legacy is now ours.”
President Donald Trump issued a statement on Fulton Sheen’s beatification. He said, “And today, as thousands of Americans gather in St. Louis, Missouri, for his Beatification Mass, we pray that Archbishop Sheen’s heroic commitment to nourishing the soul of our country will inspire others to follow his example and lift our Nation upward and ever higher to God.” See https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2026/09/presidential-message-on-the-beatification-of-archbishop-fulton-j-sheen/
There is much to be admired in the life of Fulton J. Sheen. As a Catholic writer, I am inspired by his clarity of thought, his spiritual insight and his presentation of the teachings of Christ and his Holy Church in a way that permeates into the human soul and consciousness.
May Fulton Sheen’s example inspire all persons to journey with Christ to eternity and may his prayers and intercessions help us Catholic writers (especially my brothers and sisters in Christ writing for Catholic365) to bring Christ’s Good News to the world in so desperate need of it. Amen.
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