Can anything good come out of Peoria? When considering the beatification of Archbishop Fulton Sheen, Nathanael’s question, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” John 1:46 comes to mind. A boy from the sticks makes good, again?
I don’t know who taught rhetoric and public speaking in Peoria, Ill., back in the day, but the golden age of radio certainly benefited. Fulton Sheen, Fibber McGee (Jim Jordan), and Molly (Marian Driscoll) were Catholic high school contemporaries, while Andy of Amos ‘n’ Andy graduated from the local public high school.
Fulton Sheen began his national radio career on The Catholic Hour in 1930 and was a pioneer and master of the medium. Many followed his lead. He later became a television star with Life Is Worth Living, winning an Emmy in 1952.
But above all, he was a teacher. He received a doctorate with the highest of academic honors from the University of Louvain, Belgium. He went on to teach at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., beginning in 1926.
But whether on radio, television, in the classroom, or on podcasts today, his voice is that of a teacher of faith in Jesus Christ. And like the best teachers, he could distill a reservoir of knowledge into someone’s glass and fill it to the brim. The following talk on prayer is a classic example. He opens by comparing many people’s notion of prayer to a parachute: they like that it is there, but hope they will never have to use it. It is classic Sheen. He combines a concrete visual image with humor to open the listener to a master class on prayer. All 50 episodes here or in podcasts are worth listening to.
Sometimes theologians would pull their hair out at Sheen’s analogies, but for a man who wrote over 66 books, not every phrase could be a bell ringer. His masterpieces are The Life of Christ, The World’s First Love, and Three to Get Married. His book Life Is Worth Living, based on his TV show, inspired New York to post this phrase on all major bridges as part of a suicide prevention campaign.
Not everything went smoothly for Sheen. As an appointed expert at the Second Vatican Council, he certainly knew what it said and what it meant. Trouble began after the council when the so-called “spirit of Vatican II” ran counter to the real Vatican Council. This created a period of crisis and uncertainty in the Church. Sheen soon found that in some quarters he was now on the outside looking in, not considered “with it.” His loyalty to the pope could not be shaken. He remained rock-solid on the Church’s teaching on birth control and abortion. He promoted Eucharistic adoration and the rosary in the face of not a few headwinds.
His prayer for the unborn is one worth repeating:
Jesus, Mary, Joseph, I love you very much. I beg of you to spare the life of the unborn child I have spiritually adopted, who is in danger of abortion.
For decades, Sheen was part of New York City’s ebb and flow. On his walk to his office every day, people would stop him on the street to talk to him. With courtesy, he obliged, turning a 15-minute walk into something much longer.
In addition to St. Patrick’s Cathedral, another church close to his heart was one my family has attended for four generations when in the city. St. Agnes is a commuter church in the shadow of the Chrysler Building. On Good Fridays from noon to 3 o’clock, Sheen would preach on the Seven Last Words of Christ. Today, 43rd Street, east of Grand Central Terminal, is named Archbishop Fulton Sheen Place in his honor.
Sheen influenced many to convert, and he set an example that many priests still strive to emulate today. He was the speaker at my mom’s graduation, and I learned much from his writing and preaching over the years. But our family was not alone. When seeking a stage name, actor Martin Sheen chose the bishop’s last name out of respect for him.
When Pope John Paul II first visited New York in October 1979, someone asked me to be a papal-visit press aide. It was a whirlwind few days: being with the pope, traveling in the motorcade, watching as supposedly indifferent New Yorkers showed their love.
One of the highlights was at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on the Feast of the Guardian Angels. John Paul II, digressing from his prepared program, unexpectedly walked over to Sheen. Embracing him as Sheen knelt to kiss his ring, the pope said, “You have written and spoken well of the Lord Jesus. You are a loyal son of the Church.”
Related: America’s New Blessed, Fulton Sheen, Was a Great Preacher Against Communism
Afterward, I asked Sheen if he was going to the papal Mass at Yankee Stadium that evening. He said no. He was too tired. It had been a long day. I should have recognized that after a lifetime of prayer, for older people, there sometimes comes a high note to punctuate the score.
The years in the wilderness were coming to a close for this good and faithful servant. His great heart gave out on December 9, 1979. It was the day after the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Patroness of the United States, to whom he had dedicated so much of his life’s work.
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