James Haupt
Millions of Americans once tuned in every week to hear Archbishop Fulton Sheen talk about faith, morality, and the meaning of life.
Many of those viewers weren't even Catholic.
Long before podcasts, social media and YouTube became tools for religious outreach, Fulton Sheen spread the Catholic faith into American homes through radio and television.
For two decades, Sheen used radio to explain Catholic teaching to a national audience as he became a regular voice on the Catholic Hour. Then television made him a household name.
BISHOP LOUIS TYLKA
Bishop of Peoria
He was up against the likes of folks such as Frank Sinatra, Milton Berle, and Lucille Ball.
In 1952, Sheen began his show Life Is Worth Living, a weekly Catholic television program that reached millions of viewers each week and contributed to him winning an Emmy Award.
BISHOP LOUIS TYLKA
When Fulton Sheen was on TV in the 50s this was a new technology. And to imagine that he was reaching 30 million people a week is amazing in and of itself. And he was appealing to all audiences. He spoke the truth of the Gospel, but he was also addressing the topics that people are facing today.
Sheen's influence extended beyond the television studio as an author, professor, bishop and a global missionary advocate.
He died in 1979, but his legacy continues to inspire Catholic leaders who seek new ways to communicate the faith, including Bishop Louis Tylka, the current bishop of Peoria, Sheen’s former diocese.
BISHOP LOUIS TYLKA
As a bishop, that I think specifically kind of inspires me is always thinking of the opportunities given to communicate and different ways to communicate. I don’t have the same level of intellect that Fulton Sheen possessed. I mean he was brilliant. He had one of the world’s most prominent doctoral degrees from the University of… But to speak with clarity and charity and to relate to people. I try to do that to the best of my abilities as a Bishop.
Today, Bishop Tylka, along with the Diocese of Peoria and the Archbishop Fulton Sheen Foundation, continue to preserve his legacy and share his message with new generations.
And now, thanks in part to their efforts and the recognition of his virtuous life, the archbishop who once reached millions of Americans through a television screen will be declared Blessed Fulton Sheen. His beatification takes place this Thursday, September 24.
