By Most Rev. Joseph M. Siegel
The Bishop’s Corner
With the beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen on Sept. 24, 2026, the Church has recognized the extraordinary sanctity of one of the most influential Catholic evangelists of the twentieth century.
Born on May 8, 1895, in El Paso, Illinois, he grew up in a devout Irish Catholic family in Peoria, Illinois. He displayed high intelligence from a young age. Following his ordination in 1919 as a priest of the Diocese of Peoria, he earned advanced degrees in Rome and Louvain, Belgium. He taught philosophy at the Catholic University of America for more than 20 years, and his well-attended lectures became famous for their clarity and depth.
Father Sheen’s work as a Catholic evangelist entered the public consciousness through radio. In 1930, he became the primary speaker on “The Catholic Hour,” a weekly radio program broadcast by NBC. At its peak, the show reached an estimated four million listeners each week. Sheen used this platform to address the universal human experience, speaking on topics like anxiety, freedom, love and character, while grounding his insights in Catholic truth. He possessed a rare ability to make complex theological doctrines accessible to the everyday worker, the intellectual, and the non-Catholic alike.
In 1951, he made a daring transition to the new medium of television with his program “Life is Worth Living.” His show became a massive hit, drawing up to 30 million viewers weekly. On screen, Monsignor (later Bishop) Sheen was a riveting presence. Dressed in his full prelatial attire, he stood before a live audience with nothing but a chalkboard and his intellect. He refused to use a script or a teleprompter, relying instead on rigorous preparation and a deep trust in the Holy Spirit. He understood the medium of television. He used intense eye contact, dramatic pacing and humor to captivate viewers. The chalkboard (he always joked that his angel erased it for him) became a dynamic teaching aid where he diagrammed philosophical concepts or drew simple illustrations.
At the heart of Bishop Sheen’s success was his profound Christocentric theology. For him, evangelization was not about institutional promotion or winning political arguments; it was about introducing people to the person of Jesus Christ. He constantly sought to diagnose the spiritual sickness and crises of his culture in the twentieth century. He met these anxieties head-on by presenting the Cross and the Resurrection as the ultimate answers to human suffering.
His evangelization was also deeply Eucharistic. Bishop Sheen had made a vow at his ordination to spend an hour every day in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. He attributed all of his insights, eloquence and conversion stories to this daily “Holy Hour.” This practice ensured that his public ministry always flowed from his private prayer life, giving his eloquent words a supernatural weight that could resonate with listeners.
One of Sheen’s greatest strengths as an evangelizer was that he did not intend to speak or write exclusively to Catholics. His focus on the natural law and common human experiences created a bridge that allowed him to guide listeners of all faiths toward supernatural truths. He combined sociological insight with spiritual wisdom, making Catholic spirituality attractive to a world searching for meaning.
Following his retirement as the Bishop of Rochester, New York, he was named a titular (honorary) Archbishop in recognition of his work of evangelization. Shortly before his death in 1979, Archbishop Sheen met Pope John Paul II in St. Patrick Cathedral in New York. The Pope embraced the elderly bishop, telling him, “You have written and spoken well of the Lord Jesus. You are a loyal son of the Church!”
Much has changed in society and the media since Archbishop Sheen’s death, but his basic method of evangelizing remains the gold standard. He taught the Church that the media is “not an enemy to be feared, but a pulpit to be claimed.” He showed that to evangelize effectively, one must understand both the timeless truths of the faith and the specific issues of the current culture.
While today’s Catholic digital evangelists like Bishop Robert Barron continue to walk down the path that Fulton Sheen cleared with a radio microphone and a piece of chalk, each one of us can learn from this new Blessed on how to more effectively evangelize at home, work, school and the neighborhood.
Blessed Fulton Sheen — Pray for us.