His powerful voice is familiar to many:
ARCHBISHOP FULTON SHEEN
"And if Christ walked God's love to this earth, then he's got to show love even to the extent of giving his life."
The Vatican has approved the beatification process for Archbishop Fulton Sheen, considered by many to be the first Catholic influencer and one of the greatest Catholic voices of the 20th Century.
The news broke on February 9 through Bishop Louis Tylka of Peoria, the diocese in which Archbishop Sheen was ordained a priest and from which his cause was initiated.
The Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria, Illinois, is also where Sheen's remains are buried.
Sheen was well-known as a hugely popular TV personality, a Catholic pioneer in the new and changing media landscape. He would eventually go on to become the first Catholic bishop to ever win an Emmy-award.
FR. JOHN P. CUSH
Prof. Dogmatic Theology, Brooklyn
"Fulton Sheen was so ahead of his time in terms of using the media of this day to get his message, whether that media be radio, whether that media be television."
Undoubtedly ahead of his time, Archbishop Sheen also spearheaded faith revival in a world undergoing huge social change, particularly in the United States. For many Catholics, Sheen voice was like a singular cry in the desert of secularism.
FR. MICHAEL MORRIS
Pastor, Regina Coeli Church, New York
"In many ways, he was kind of a modern John the Baptist—totally not even worried about what people thought about him. He knew what the truth was and he preached it very fearlessly."
His passion for truth and the Catholic faith was matched by a keen sense of compassion and sympathy for those suffering from loss of belief or who were in spiritual crisis.
The Diocese of Peoria has yet to confirm a date and location for the beatification Mass, but it is likely to be sometime in the late summer or early fall of 2026
Many Catholics will be on the lookout for more details regarding Sheen's beatification in the coming weeks, and it is likely that thousands will attend the Mass in honor of the archbishop's next step to canonization.
So it seems that Archbishops Fulton Sheen's Emmy award pales in comparison to his heavenly reward.
ARCHBISHOP FULTON SHEEN
"The incarnation is not something that happened. It is something that is happening."
With beatification now in sight, many have surely started wondering—how long until Archbishop Fulton Sheen is canonized?
James O'Reilly
