'LISTENING AND FASTING: LENT AS A TIME OF CONVERSION'

The Holy See has formally notified Bishop Louis Tylka of Peoria, Illinois, in the United States, that the cause of the Venerable Servant of God may now proceed to beatification, clearing the way for the American prelate to be declared “Blessed” in the Catholic Church.

Few American churchmen have left a public footprint comparable to that of Fulton Sheen. Born Peter John Sheen on May 8, 1895, in El Paso, Illinois, he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Peoria in 1919. His episcopal career unfolded largely on the national stage: he was appointed auxiliary bishop of New York in 1951, serving there until 1966, and later became bishop of Rochester, a post he held until his retirement in 1969 at the age of 74. Yet it was not diocesan administration that made Sheen a household name. His television program Life Is Worth Living, broadcast from 1952 to 1957, brought Catholic moral teaching into American living rooms at a time when religious programming rarely reached mainstream audiences. The show earned an Emmy Award and attracted millions of viewers, a fact Bishop Tylka has often cited in calling Sheen a pioneer who anticipated the Church’s later engagement with mass media. Long before the age of digital evangelization, Sheen demonstrated how theology, philosophy and pastoral concern could be communicated with clarity and cultural relevance.

Sheen died on December 9, 1979, the feast of St. Juan Diego, succumbing to heart disease after decades of priestly and episcopal service. More than four decades later, the Church is preparing to place him before the faithful not merely as a celebrated communicator, but as a model of holiness.

His forthcoming beatification is a huge boost for platforms like ‘The Hook of Faith’ who try to carry on the mission of proclaiming the Gospel using the new media to every continent and to all peoples, following in the footsteps of people like Fulton Sheen.

The Archbishop Fulton Sheen Foundation is the official organization promoting the Cause for Canonization of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. Established under the auspices of the Diocese of Peoria, the Foundation is dedicated to preserving and sharing Sheen’s life, writings, and teachings, and to fostering devotion to his example of faith. 

Learn more at www.celebratesheen.com

Above is a recording of Archbishop Sheen’s reflections on the Seven Last Words of Christ from the Cross.