Venerable Fulton J. Sheen is remembered as one of the most influential and innovative evangelists in American history. Once dubbed “God’s microphone,” Archbishop Sheen announced God’s truth in a nonconfrontational, yet no less life-giving, manner to untold millions through radio, print and television.
Born in El Paso, Illinois, on May 8, 1895, Archbishop Sheen resolved to serve the Church as a priest from an early age. Archbishop Sheen was assigned to academic ministry following his ordination to the priesthood on Sept. 20, 1919, for the Diocese of Peoria.
Archbishop Sheen threw himself into work as an assistant priest at a poor, inner-city parish, exhibiting an extraordinary zeal for souls. As part of his parish ministry, he launched a door-to-door evangelization campaign.
In less than a year, Archbishop Sheen landed a professorship at The Catholic University of America in Washington, which he held for 25 years. He quickly became one of the most popular professors on campus, known for his engaging and stimulating lectures. During that time, he authored more than half of his nearly 70 books.
During the 1930s and ’40s, Archbishop Sheen became a household name as host of “The Catholic Hour,” broadcast nationally from NBC Radio in New York. He emerged as a national voice — a prophetic truth-teller who spoke out on a host of issues, particularly the threats posed by communism. For that, he even came under investigation by the FBI.
He was appointed director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith in 1950. The next year, he was appointed an auxiliary bishop of New York, ordained in Rome on June 11, 1951.
On Tuesday evenings from 1952-57, Archbishop Sheen propagated eternal truths to an estimated audience of 30 million via his “Life Is Worth Living” television program. With apparent ease and captivating eloquence, he helped viewers find the meaning of life and drew them toward the divine, always equipped with his famous cape and chalkboard.
The millions of dollars in advertising and book sales that Archbishop Sheen made went to directly support the missions. He spent an hour in preparation for each of his 30 minutes on the air. After his first year on the air, Archbishop Sheen won an Emmy for best television personality. Upon acceptance, he famously thanked his writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Archbishop Sheen’s writings and preaching were inspired by a lively and heroic faith. When he traveled the globe visiting the missions, he drew massive crowds. He was a much sought-after preacher.
Like St. Paul, Archbishop Sheen could not pass on what he did not already first receive in Christ. Throughout his priesthood, he sought to conform himself more closely to Christ by observing a daily Eucharistic Holy Hour, what he called “the hour that makes my day.”
From 1966 to 1969, Archbishop Sheen served as bishop of Rochester, New York. Archbishop Sheen had been an active participant at the Second Vatican Council and as a diocesan bishop worked to implement some of its main themes, including reform of priestly formation and increase in lay participation.
Attentive to the times, his priorities often were rooted in social consciousness. He ministered to the poor, worked to improve race relations and was a vocal opponent of the Vietnam War. But despite Archbishop Sheen’s best efforts, his brief tenure there was met with great resistance and resulted in a good deal of self-described failure.
After his request for early retirement was accepted in 1969, Archbishop Sheen was granted the title “archbishop” by St. Paul VI. He continued preaching far and wide in his last decade, delivered retreats aimed at renewal of the priesthood throughout the country, and maintained a voice in the public square through regular media appearances.
After nearly two years in and out of the hospital following open-heart surgery, Archbishop Sheen died at the age of 85 on Dec. 9, 1979, in New York City, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.
