Drive Continues to Make TV’s Favorite Bishop a Saint

c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) If Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen were alive today, he would probably watch the “Dr. Phil” show, says a Peoria, Ill., priest researching the late Catholic leader. And he’d be reading M. Scott Peck’s “The Road Less Traveled” and Rick Warren’s “The Purpose Driven Life,” said Monsignor Richard Soseman. “He […]

c. 2006 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) If Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen were alive today, he would probably watch the “Dr. Phil” show, says a Peoria, Ill., priest researching the late Catholic leader.

And he’d be reading M. Scott Peck’s “The Road Less Traveled” and Rick Warren’s “The Purpose Driven Life,” said Monsignor Richard Soseman.


“He would keep his pulse on those things. Although the names are different today, they reflect what man is searching for,” said Soseman, who since 2002 has served as delegate for the Diocese of Peoria’s cause for the canonization of Sheen.

Sheen was born May 8, 1895, in El Paso, Ill., and died in 1979. His family moved to Peoria in 1900, and he was ordained a priest in the Peoria diocese in 1919.

He studied at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and the University of Louvain in Belgium and later taught theology, philosophy and religion. He was named a bishop in 1951. He was national director for the Society of the Propagation of the Faith from 1950 to 1966, and served as a bishop in Rochester, N.Y., from 1966 to 1969.

For about 22 years, beginning in 1930, Sheen hosted the national radio show “The Catholic Hour.” From 1951 to 1957, he hosted the television series “Life Is Worth Living.”

The Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints officially opened Sheen’s cause in 2002. Sheen can now be referred to as “Servant of God,” and investigations of his heroic virtues and a report of a miracle attributed to Sheen’s intercession are under way, led by his home diocese in Peoria.

The church process to make him eligible for sainthood includes documenting his life, reviews by a Vatican panel and Vatican approval of two miracles attributed to Sheen’s intercession.

A diocesan tribunal is investigating the report of a woman who unexpectedly survived after complications from an operation. Her husband is said to have prayed specifically for Sheen’s help.


The canonization process could take two to 50 years, Soseman said. He said he has so far interviewed about 40 of 200 witnesses who knew Sheen.

The late bishop is best known for his media career. The television shows currently are being rebroadcast on the religious Trinity Broadcast Network (TBN) and Catholic Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN).

Soseman attributes the ongoing interest in Sheen’s television shows to his broad message.

“He was a clear, plain speaker,” Soseman said. “What he says does have universal appeal.”

By today’s standards, Sheen’s television show seems archaic: a black-and-white show, featuring a robed clergyman teaching a lesson and making notes on a blackboard. But his messages still ring true, Soseman said.

“Although we have iPods and fancy technology, does it really speak to us in the depth of our hearts? Fulton Sheen really does,” he said. “The concerns of humankind don’t change throughout time.”

Sheen also had a private side, characterized by great kindness, gentleness and generosity, Soseman said.


The church’s official stamp of approval in declaring Sheen a saint would be a boost for his home diocese as well as the entire church, Soseman said. “It reminds us this was someone from amongst us who could be holy. We need that example.”

(Renee K. Gadoua writes for The Post-Standard in Syracuse, N.J.)

KRE/PH END GADOUA

Editors: To obtain a file photo of Fulton Sheen, go to the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search by subject or slug.

NEWS FEATURE

Donate to Support Independent Journalism!

Donate Now!