View source for Fulton J. Sheen

{{Short description|American Catholic bishop, televangelist, and venerable}}
{{redirect|The Catholic Hour|the TV series|The Catholic Hour (TV series){{!}}''The Catholic Hour'' (TV series)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = archbishop
| honorific_prefix = [[The Venerable|Venerable]]
| name = Fulton J. Sheen
| honorific_suffix = [[Lay Carmelites|TOCarm]]
| archbishop_of = {{unbulleted list|[[Titular bishop|Titular Archbishop of Newport]]
 |[[Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester|Bishop Emeritus of Rochester]]}}
| image = Fulton J. Sheen NYWTS.jpg
| caption = Sheen on the set of his show ''[[Life Is Worth Living]]''
| province = 
| diocese = 
| church = [[Catholic Church]]
| see = [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester|Rochester]]
| appointed = October 21, 1966
| term = 
| term_end = October 6, 1969
| predecessor = [[James Edward Kearney]]
| successor = [[Joseph Lloyd Hogan]]
| ordination = September 20, 1919
| ordained_by = [[Edmund Michael Dunne|Edmund M. Dunne]]
| consecration = June 11, 1951
| consecrated_by = [[Adeodato Giovanni Piazza]]
| other_post = Titular Archbishop of Neoportus (Latin: [[Newport, Wales]]; 1969–1979)
| birth_name = Peter John Sheen
| birth_date = {{birth date|1895|5|8}}<ref name="cause-bio"/>
| birth_place = [[El Paso, Illinois]], U.S.<ref name="cause-bio"/>
| death_date = {{death date and age|1979|12|9|1895|5|8}}
| death_place = [[New York City]], U.S. 
| buried = [[St. Patrick's Cathedral (Manhattan)|St. Patrick's Cathedral]], [[New York City]] (1979–2019)<br />[[Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception (Peoria, Illinois)|St. Mary's Cathedral]], [[Peoria, Illinois]] (since 2019)
| nationality = American
| parents = 
| coat_of_arms = Coat of arms of Fulton John Sheen.svg
| occupation = {{Hlist|Catholic bishop|evangelist|professor}}
| previous_post = {{unbulleted list|[[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York|Auxiliary Bishop of New York]] (1951–1966)|Titular Bishop of Caesariana (1951–1966)}}
| education = {{unbulleted list|[[St. Viator College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[Master of Arts|MA]])|[[Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity|St. Paul Seminary]]|[[Catholic University of America]] ([[canon law|JCB]])|[[Catholic University of Leuven (1835–1968)|Catholic University of Leuven]] ([[PhD]])|[[Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas]] ([[Sacrae Theologiae Doctor|STD]])}}
| motto = ''Da per matrem me venire'' (English: "Grant that I may come [to You] through the mother [Mary]")
| signature = Fulton J. Sheen Signature.svg
| shrine = Tomb (St. Mary's Cathedral, Peoria, Illinois)<br>Birthplace museum in El Paso, Illinois<br>Fulton Sheen Museum, Peoria
| suppressed_date = 
| module = {{Ordination
|embed = yes
|ordained deacon by = 
|date of diaconal ordination = 
|place of diaconal ordination = 
|ordained priest by = [[Edmund Michael Dunne|Edmund M. Dunne]]
|date of priestly ordination = September 20, 1919
|place of priestly ordination = 
|consecrated by = [[Adeodato Giovanni Piazza]]
|co-consecrators = [[Martin John O'Connor]]<br />[[Leone Giovanni Battista Nigris]]
|date of consecration = June 11, 1951
|place of consecration = 
|elevated by = 
|date of elevation = 
|bishop 1 = {{interlanguage link|Joseph Brendan Houlihan|it}}
|consecration date 1 = November 20, 1960
|sources = 
}}
}}
{{Infobox bishop styles
|name = Fulton J. Sheen
|dipstyle = [[The Most Reverend]]
|offstyle = [[Your Excellency]]
|relstyle = [[Your Excellency]]
|deathstyle = [[The Venerable#Catholic|Venerable]]
|image = Coat of arms of Fulton John Sheen.svg
|image_size = 200px
}}
'''Fulton John Sheen''' (born '''Peter John Sheen'''; May 8, 1895 – December 9, 1979) was an [[Catholic Church in the United States|American Catholic]] prelate who served as [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester|Bishop of Rochester]] from 1966 to 1969. He was known for his preaching, especially on television and radio. 

Ordained a priest of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria|Diocese of Peoria]] in Illinois, in 1919,<ref name="cause-bio" /> Sheen quickly became a renowned theologian, earning the [[Cardinal Mercier Prize|Cardinal Mercier Prize for International Philosophy]] in 1923. He went on to teach theology and philosophy at the [[Catholic University of America]] in Washington, D.C. and served as a parish priest before he was appointed an auxiliary bishop for the [[Archdiocese of New York]] in 1951. He held this position until 1966 when he was made [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester|Bishop of Rochester]]. He resigned in 1969 as his 75th birthday approached and was made archbishop of the [[titular see]] of [[Newport, Wales]].<ref name="ch">{{Catholic-hierarchy|bishop|bsheen|Archbishop Fulton John Sheen|January 21, 2015}}</ref>

For 20 years as "Father Sheen", later [[monsignor]], he hosted the night-time radio program ''The Catholic Hour'' on [[NBC Radio|NBC]] (1930–1950) before he moved to television and presented ''[[Life Is Worth Living]]'' (1952–1957). Sheen's final presenting role was on the syndicated ''The Fulton Sheen Program'' (1961–1968) with a format that was very similar to that of the earlier ''Life Is Worth Living'' show. For that work, Sheen twice won an [[Emmy Award]] for Most Outstanding Television Personality, and was featured on the [[List of covers of Time magazine (1950s)|cover of ''Time'' magazine]].<ref name="CUA-bio">{{cite web |url=https://fulton-sheen.catholic.edu/ |title=Biography of Fulton J. Sheen |publisher=Catholic University of America |access-date=December 4, 2020}}</ref> Starting in 2009, his shows were being re-broadcast on the [[EWTN]] and the [[Trinity Broadcasting Network]]'s [[Church Channel]] cable networks.<ref name="foundation">{{cite web |url = http://www.archbishopsheencause.org/links.html |title = Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen |access-date = September 14, 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080513123805/http://www.archbishopsheencause.org/links.html |archive-date = May 13, 2008 |url-status = dead}}</ref> His contribution to televised preaching resulted in Sheen often being called one of the first [[televangelists]].<ref>{{cite news |last = Rodgers |first = Ann |url = http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1634110.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121025120553/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1634110.html |url-status = dead |archive-date = October 25, 2012 |title = Emmy-winning televangelist on path toward sainthood: Sheen would be 1st American-born man canonized |work = [[Chicago Sun-Times]] |via= [[HighBeam Research]] |date = August 29, 2006 |access-date = July 16, 2012}}</ref>

The cause for his [[canonization]] was officially opened in 2002. In June 2012, [[Pope Benedict XVI]] officially recognized a decree from the [[Congregation for the Causes of Saints]] stating that he lived a life of "[[heroic virtue]]s," a major step towards [[beatification]], and he is now referred to as [[The Venerable#Catholic|venerable]].<ref>{{cite news |last = Otterman |first = Sharon |title = For a 1950s TV Evangelist, a Step Toward Sainthood |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/30/nyregion/archbishop-fulton-j-sheen-advances-toward-sainthood.html |work = [[The New York Times]] |access-date = July 5, 2012 |date = June 29, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title = The Venerable Fulton J. Sheen: a model of virtue for our time |url = http://www.news.va/en/news/the-venerable-fulton-j-sheen-a-model-of-virtue-for |work = News.va |publisher = Pontifical Council for Social Communications |access-date = July 5, 2012 |date = June 30, 2012 |archive-date = July 7, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120707001737/http://www.news.va/en/news/the-venerable-fulton-j-sheen-a-model-of-virtue-for |url-status = dead}}</ref> On July 5, 2019, [[Pope Francis]] approved a reputed miracle that occurred through the intercession of Sheen, clearing the way for his beatification.<ref>[https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2019/07/06/archbishop-Fulton-sheen-beatification-miracle-approved "Archbishop Fulton Sheen to be beatified"], ''[[America (magazine)|America]]''. [[Associated Press]], July 6, 2019.</ref> Sheen was scheduled to be beatified in Peoria on December 21, 2019, but this was postponed after Bishop [[Salvatore Ronald Matano|Salvatore Matano]] of Rochester expressed concern that Sheen's alleged assignment of a priest who had been the subject of a 1963 [[sexual misconduct]] case might be cited unfavorably in a forthcoming report from the [[New York Attorney General]]. The Diocese of Peoria countered that the priest had been assigned not by Sheen but by his successor, and that Sheen had been "exonerated" following thorough examination of the matter, having "never put children in harm's way."<ref name="delay" /> In May 2025 its bishop, [[Louis Tylka]], said he would urge newly-elected [[Pope Leo XIV]], who like Sheen was born in Illinois, to complete the process.<ref name=Leo>{{cite news |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/possible-path-archbishop-fulton-sheen-234554149.html?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAL9vi4wtj_gUjFfH3LLi2Eyn-9QpdHuWcGigf-1b7p67xBepvvJ4a2m22UZdnPnp_W5k80WqoddRJzrmSLHNoMjlnPh54RJ2i-fdtQNgW8S7TJVvNZYrXzlGKbiXPJdvbjbpLmlI68OsyFbuxRUruuWukwSawcCVh9cqHVuNcXkE&guccounter=2|title=The possible path for Archbishop Fulton Sheen to become a Saint|first=Alex|last=Berger|work=Yahoo News|date=May 14, 2025|access-date=May 15, 2025}}</ref>

==Early life==
Fulton Sheen was born on May 8, 1895, in [[El Paso, Illinois]], the oldest of four sons of Newton and Delia Sheen. His parents were of [[Ireland|Irish]] descent, and their own parents were from [[Croghan, County Roscommon|Croghan]], County Roscommon, [[Connacht]]. He was known as "Fulton", his mother's maiden name, but he was baptized as "Peter John Sheen".<ref name="cause-bio">{{cite web |url = https://celebratesheen.com/biography/ |title = Biography – Archbishop Fulton Sheen |work = Archbishop Fulton John Sheen Foundation |access-date = September 13, 2022}}</ref><ref name=time19520414/> As an infant, Sheen contracted [[tuberculosis]].<ref>Fulton J. Sheen. ''Treasure in Clay'', Ch. 2 "The Molding of the Clay", p. 9, 1980.</ref> 

After the family had moved to nearby [[Peoria, Illinois]], Sheen's first role in the Catholic Church was as an [[altar boy]] at [[Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria|Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception]] in Peoria.<ref name="cause-bio" /><ref name="time19520414" />

Sheen graduated in 1913 from high school at [[Academy of Our Lady/Spalding Institute|Spalding Institute]] in Peoria with valedictorian honors.  He then entered [[St. Viator College]] in Bourbonnais, Illinois. Deciding to become a priest, he started his studies at [[Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity|Saint Paul Seminary]] in St. Paul, Minnesota.

== Ordination and further education ==
Sheen was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Peoria at the Cathedral of Saint Mary in Peoria on September 20, 1919 by Bishop [[Edmund Michael Dunne|Edmund Dunne]].<ref name="cause-bio" /> After his 1919 ordination, Sheen continued his studies at the [[Catholic University of America]] in Washington, D.C..<ref name="time19520414"/><ref name="FJSweb" /> He celebrated his first Christmas mass at St. Mark Parish in Peoria.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Reeves |first1=Thomas C. |author1-link=Thomas C. Reeves |title=America's Bishop: The Life and Times of Fulton J. Sheen |date=2001 |publisher=Encounter Books |location=San Francisco |isbn=1-893554-25-2 |page=56 |url=https://archive.org/details/americasbishopli00reev_0/mode/2up}}</ref> His youthful appearance was still evident on one occasion when a local priest, unaware of his identity, asked Sheen to assist as [[altar boy]] during the celebration of the mass.<ref name="time19520414" />

After finishing his studies at Catholic University of America, he entered the [[Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968)|Catholic University of Leuven]] in [[Belgium]], earning a [[Doctor of Philosophy]] degree in 1923.<ref name="FJSweb" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Sheen Cunningham |first1=Joan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0KfDDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT28 |title=My Uncle Fulton Sheen |last2=Rodriguez |first2=Janel |publisher=Ignatius Press |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-64229-110-0 |pages=28–29}}</ref> His doctoral thesis was titled "The Spirit of Contemporary Philosophy and the Finite God".<ref>Sheen, Fulton John. "The Spirit of Contemporary Philosophy and the Finite God", Thèse de doctorat – Université catholique de Louvain, 1923.</ref> At [[Leuven]], he became the first American to win the [[Cardinal Mercier Prize for International Philosophy|Cardinal Mercier Prize]] for the best philosophical treatise.<ref name="time19520414" /> In 1924, Sheen went to Rome to attend the [[Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas|Pontificium Collegium Internationale Angelicum]], where he was awarded a [[Doctor of Sacred Theology]] degree.<ref>{{cite book |title = Encyclopedia of American Religious History |page = 921 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=u-_6P2rMy2wC&pg=PA921|isbn=978-0816066605 |access-date = March 3, 2013 |last1 = Queen |first1 = Edward L. |last2 = Prothero |first2 = Stephen R. |last3 = Shattuck |first3 = Gardiner H. |year = 2009|publisher = Facts On File, Incorporated }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.allendrake.com/elpasohistory/sheen/shncaps1.htm |title = Archbishop Fulton Sheen dies |newspaper = Catholic Post |location = Peoria |via = El Paso, Illinois, Community History Webpage |date = December 16, 1979 |access-date = December 30, 2013}}</ref>

==Priestly life==
After Sheen returned to Peoria in 1926, Bishop Dunn assigned him as curate at St. Patrick's, a poor parish in Peoria. At that time, both [[Columbia University]] in New York and [[University of Oxford|Oxford University]] in England wanted Sheen to teach philosophy.  However, Sheen took the assignment at St. Patrick's without any complaints and later said that he enjoyed his time there. Nine months later, Dunne summoned Sheen to his office. Dunne told him:<blockquote>I promised you to [[Catholic University of America|Catholic University]] over a year ago. They told me that with all your traipsing around Europe, you'd be so [[Top hat|high hat]] you couldn't take orders. But Father Cullen says you've been a good boy at St. Patrick's. So run along to Washington.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Farney |first=Kirk D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kp9DEAAAQBAJ&dq=bishop+edmund+dunne&pg=PT50 |title=Ministers of a New Medium: Broadcasting Theology in the Radio Ministries of Fulton J. Sheen and Walter A. Maier |date=2022-06-21 |publisher=InterVarsity Press |isbn=978-1-5140-0323-7 |language=en}}</ref></blockquote>However, instead of Catholic University of America, Sheen chose to teach theology at [[St. Edmund's College, Ware|St. Edmund's College]] in Ware, England, where he met Reverend [[Ronald Knox]].  He also assisted the pastor at [[St. Patrick's Church, Soho Square|St. Patrick's Parish]] in the Soho section of [[London]]. In 1928, Sheen finally returned to Catholic University of America, where he would teach philosophy until 1950.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/catholic_stories/cs0100.html |title = Fulton J. Sheen, Catholic Champion |publisher = Catholiceducation.org |access-date = July 7, 2012}}</ref><ref name="time19520414" />

In 1929, Sheen delivered a speech at a meeting of the [[National Catholic Educational Association]] in which he encouraged teachers to "educate for a Catholic Renaissance" in the United States. Sheen was hoping that American Catholics would become more influential through education, which would help attract others to Catholicism. He believed that Catholics should "integrate" their faith into the rest of their daily life.<ref>Hennesey, James (1981). ''American Catholics'', Oxford University Press, p. 255.</ref>

In 1950, Sheen became the national director of the [[Society for the Propagation of the Faith]]. During his 16 years as director, Sheen raised millions of dollars for missionary efforts worldwide. He also donated $10 million that he earned from his later television programs.<ref name="cause-bio" />

===Auxiliary Bishop of New York===
[[File:SHEEN, F.J. REVEREND LCCN2016860626.tif|thumb|Reverend Sheen ]]
On May 28, 1951, [[Pope Pius XII]] appointed Sheen as an auxiliary bishop for New York. He was consecrated in Rome at the Basilica of [[Santi Giovanni e Paolo al Celio|Santi Giovanni e Paulo]] on June 11, 1951.<ref name="ch" /> The principal consecrator was Cardinal [[Adeodato Giovanni Piazza]]. The co-consecrators were Archbishop [[Leone Giovanni Battista Nigris]] and Archbishop [[Martin John O'Connor]].<ref name="ch" />

=== Bishop of Rochester ===
On October 21, 1966, Pope Paul VI named Sheen as bishop of Rochester.<ref name="ch" /> While serving in Rochester, Sheen created the Sheen Ecumenical Housing Foundation. He also spent some of his energy on political activities such as his denunciation of American involvement in the [[Vietnam War]] in late July 1967.<ref>[[James H. Willbanks|Willbanks, James H.]], ''Vietnam War Almanac'', Facts on File, Inc. (2009), p. 215.</ref> On [[Ash Wednesday]] in 1967, Sheen decided to give St. Bridget's Parish building to the federal [[Housing and Urban Development]] program. Sheen wanted to let the government use it for [[black Americans]]. There was a protest since Sheen acted on his own accord. The pastor disagreed by saying, "There is enough empty property around without taking down the church and the school." The deal fell through.<ref>John T. McGreevy, ''Parish Boundaries: The Catholic Encounter with Race in the Twentieth-Century'' Urban North, University of Chicago Press, 1996, 242</ref>

On October 6, 1969, Sheen resigned as bishop of Rochester.<ref name="ch" /> Paul VI then named him as archbishop of the [[titular see]] of [[Newport, Wales]].

===Ecumenical efforts===
In the 1950s and 1960s, Sheen made notable efforts to seek common ground with Christians from non-Catholic churches, both [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Eastern Orthodox]] and Protestant. He occasionally celebrated the Byzantine [[Divine Liturgy]], with papal permission awarding him certain [[Eastern Catholic Churches#Bi-ritual faculties|bi-ritual faculties]].<ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.nytimes.com/1956/06/18/archives/byzantine-mass-offered-by-sheen-bishop-with-papal-sanction.html |title = Byzantine Mass {{sic |nolink=yes}} Offered by Sheen; Bishop, With Papal Sanction, Celebrates in Ancient Rite in Slavonic and English |newspaper = The New York Times |date = June 18, 1956}}</ref> He often commended the Protestant devotion to Bible study:<blockquote>"The first subject of all to be studied is Scripture, and this demands not only the reading of it but the study of commentaries.&nbsp;... Protestant commentaries, I discovered, were also particularly interesting because Protestants have spent more time on Scripture than most of us."<ref name="Treasure1993">{{cite book |title = Treasure in Clay: The Autobiography of Fulton J. Sheen |first = Fulton J. |last = Sheen |publisher = Ignatius Press |year = 1993}}</ref>{{rp|79}} </blockquote>Sheen's autobiography summarized his ecumenical outlook: <blockquote>"The combination of travel, the study of world religions and personal encounter with different nationalities and peoples made me see that the fullness of truth is like a complete circle of 360 degrees. Every religion in the world has a segment of that truth."<ref name="Treasure1993" />{{rp|148}}</blockquote>

==Media career==
===Radio===
In 1930, Sheen began a weekly NBC Sunday-night radio broadcast, ''The Catholic Hour''.<ref name=FJSweb>{{cite web |title = About Fulton J. Sheen |publisher = Fulton J. Sheen website |url = http://www.bishopsheen.com/store.asp?pid=13501&catid=19766 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071020001919/http://bishopsheen.com/store.asp?pid=13501&catid=19766 |archive-date = October 20, 2007}}</ref> During one broadcast, Sheen termed [[World War II]] as not just a political struggle but also a "theological one". He referred to German Chancellor [[Adolf Hitler]] as an example of the "[[Anti-Christ]]".<ref>Hennesey, James (1981). ''American Catholics'', Oxford University Press, p. 280.</ref>''[[Time (magazine)|Time Magazine]]'' referred to Sheen in 1946 as "the golden-voiced Msgr. Fulton J. Sheen, U.S. Catholicism's famed proselytizer", and reported that his radio broadcast received 3,000 to 6,000&nbsp;letters weekly from listeners. By 1950, ''The Catholic Hour'' had a weekly audience of four million listeners.<ref>{{cite magazine |access-date = March 30, 2009 |url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,934406,00.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080125035819/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,934406,00.html |url-status = dead |archive-date = January 25, 2008 |title = Radio Religion |date = January 21, 1946 |magazine = [[Time (magazine)|Time]]}}</ref> 

===Television===
[[File:Bishop Fulton J. Sheen 1956.JPG|thumb|Monsignor Sheen on ''[[Life Is Worth Living]]'' (1958)]]
At the Catholic University of America, Sheen in 1940 provided [[voice-over]] commentary for an [[Easter Sunday]] mass. Broadcast on the experimental station [[W2XBS]], it was one of the first televised religious services in the United States. During the sermon, Sheen remarked, <blockquote>"This is the first religious television in the history of the world. Let therefore its first message be a tribute of thanks to God for giving the minds of our day the inspiration to unravel the secrets of the universe."<ref>{{cite news |agency = Associated Press |date = March 24, 1940 |title = First Television Broadcast Of Easter Services |newspaper = The Gazette and Daily |page = 5 |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2972772/first-tv-broadcast-of-religious/ |via = Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media |title = The Eternal Gift |people = Sheen, Fulton J., narrator |date = 1941 |medium = Videotape |publisher = The Perpetual Novena}}</ref></blockquote>On February 12, 1952, Sheen began a weekly television program on the [[DuMont Television Network]] called ''[[Life Is Worth Living]]''.<ref>{{cite book |title = The 'TV Guide' TV Book |url = https://archive.org/details/tvguidetvbook40y00wein |url-access = registration |last = Weiner |first = Ed |year = 1992 |publisher = Harper Collins |location = New York |page =[https://archive.org/details/tvguidetvbook40y00wein/page/216 216] |isbn = 0-06-096914-8}}</ref> Filmed at the [[Adelphi Theatre (New York)|Adelphi Theatre]] in New York City, the program consisted of Sheen speaking extemporaneously before a live audience. The show did not have a script or [[cue cards]], although Sheen occasionally used a [[Blackboard|chalkboard]]. He was not paid for the program. ''Life is Worth Living'' was scheduled in a [[prime time]] slot on Tuesday nights at 8:00&nbsp;p.m. Its competition was the ''[[Texaco Star Theater]]'' on [[NBC]], a variety show starring comedian [[Milton Berle]] and the [[The Frank Sinatra Show (1950 TV series)|''Frank Sinatra Show'']], another [[Variety show|variety program]] on [[CBS]].<ref name=":2">{{cite book |last1=Weinstein |first1=David |title=The Forgotten Network: Dumont and the Birth of American Television |date=2004 |publisher=Temple University Press |isbn=1-59213-245-6 |location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania}}</ref>

Defying all expectations, ''Life is Worth Living'' became very popular.  The ''Frank Sinatra Show'' was canceled in April 1952, leading to speculation that it was due to the success of Sheen's show.<ref name=":2" />Berle, known as "Uncle Miltie", frequently used old [[vaudeville]] material on his show. Joking about Sheen, he said. "He uses old material, too." Berle also observed, "If I'm going to be eased off the top by anyone, it's better that I lose to the One for whom Bishop Sheen is speaking."<ref name="time19520414" /> Sheen responded to Berle, saying that perhaps people should start calling him "Uncle Fultie".<ref name="TVQ" /> 

''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' and ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazines ran feature stories on Sheen. The number of stations carrying ''Life Is Worth Living'' jumped from three to fifteen in less than two months. The show started receiving 8,500 letters per week. The show received four times as many requests for studio tickets as could be fulfilled. The sponsor [[Admiral (electrical appliances)|Admiral]], a manufacturer of TVs and appliances, paid the production costs in return for a one-minute commercial at the show's opening and another minute at its close.<ref name="TVQ">Watson, Mary Ann (1999). "And they said Uncle Fultie didn't have a prayer." ''Television Quarterly'', '''30''' (2), 80–85.</ref> 

In 1952, Sheen won an [[Emmy Award]] for Most Outstanding personality''.''<ref name="Trib09">{{cite news |last = Bearden |first = Michelle |title = Mass Today Promotes Sheen For Sainthood |newspaper = [[The Tampa Tribune]] |date = January 24, 2009 |page = 10}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Bishop Fulton J. Sheen |url=https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/bishop-fulton-j-sheen |access-date=2025-03-30 |website=Television Academy |language=en}}</ref> In accepting his Emmy, Sheen, "I feel it is time I pay tribute to my four writers – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John." At that time, Berle quipped, "We both work for 'Sky Chief{{'"}}, a reference to God and Berle's sponsor, [[Texaco]]. ''Time'' called Sheen "the first 'televangelist{{'"}} and the Archdiocese of New York could not meet the demand for tickets.<ref name="time19520414">{{Cite magazine |date = April 14, 1952 |title = Bishop Fulton Sheen: The First 'Televangelist' |url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,857161,00.html |magazine = Time |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080122001512/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,857161,00.html |archive-date = January 22, 2008 |access-date = May 10, 2020 |url-status = dead}}</ref> Sheen received a second Emmy nomination in 1953.<ref name=":3" />

One of Sheen's best-remembered presentations came in February 1953, when he forcefully denounced the [[Soviet Union]]. Sheen gave a dramatic reading of the burial scene from Shakespeare's ''[[Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar]].'' He substituted the names of  Soviet leaders (Stalin, [[Lavrenty Beria]], Georgy Malenkov, and [[Andrey Vyshinsky]]) for those of characters in the play (Julius Caesar, [[Gaius Cassius Longinus]], Marc Antony and [[Marcus Junius Brutus]]). Sheen concluded the presentation by saying, "Stalin must one day meet his judgment." Days later, Stalin suffered a stroke and died within the week.<ref name="snopes">Mikkelson, Barbara and David P. [http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/sheen.htm "Stalin for Time: Did Bishop Fulton Sheen foretell the death of Stalin?"] [[Snopes]], August 8, 2007.</ref>

Sheen was often quick to rebuke what he considered wrongful conduct. For example, in his televised sermon "False Compassion", he shouted: <blockquote>"There are sob sisters; there are the social slobberers who insist on compassion being shown to the muggers, to the dope fiends, to the throat slashers, to the beatniks, to the prostitutes, to the homosexuals, to the punks, so that today the decent man is practically off the reservation." </blockquote>Sheen then told his viewers to "hate the sin&nbsp;... and love the sinner."<ref>{{cite web |last=Sheen |first=Fulton J. |date=1965 |title=False Compassion |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2k-HxX_hTI |access-date=July 15, 2021 |work=The Fulton Sheen Program |publisher=The Catholic World}}</ref>

''Life Is Worth Living'' ran until 1957, drawing as many as 30&nbsp;million people weekly, mostly non-Catholics.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.americamagazine.org/arts-culture/2023/01/10/cbc-column-fulton-sheen-244499 |title=The secret to Archbishop Fulton Sheen's power: 'A thinking head and a feeling heart' |first=James T. |last=Keane |magazine=America |date=January 10, 2023 |access-date=September 22, 2023}}</ref> He received his third Emmy nomination in 1957.

Sheen returned to television in 1961 with a nationally-syndicated series, ''The Fulton Sheen Program.'' Running until to 1968, it was broadcast first in black-and-white and later in color. The format of the series was essentially the same as ''Life Is Worth Living''.

===International cassette tape ministry===
In September 1974, Archbishop [[Thomas William Lyons]] of Washington asked Sheen to speak at a [[retreat (religious)|retreat]] for [[diocesan priests]] at the Loyola Retreat House in [[Faulkner, Maryland]]. Sheen's talks were recorded on [[Reel-to-reel audio tape recording|reel-to-reel tape]].<ref name="ReferenceA">"An Enduring Journey of Faith: St. Joseph's Parish, Pomfret, Maryland, 2012" by St. Joseph's Church, Pomfret, Maryland, Harambee Productions, White Plains, Maryland.</ref>

Sheen requested for the recorded talks to be produced for distribution. This was the first production of a worldwide [[cassette tape]] ministry called Ministr-O-Media, a nonprofit company that operated on the grounds of St. Joseph's Parish in [[Pomfret, Maryland]]. The retreat album was ''Renewal and Reconciliation'' and included nine 60-minute audiotapes.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

===Evangelization===
According to a 1952 article in ''Time Magazine'', Sheen was responsible for converting to Catholicism the writer [[Heywood Broun]], the politician [[Clare Boothe Luce]], the automaker [[Henry Ford II]], the writer [[Louis F. Budenz]], the union organizer [[Bella Dodd]], the theatrical designer [[Jo Mielziner]] and the violinist and composer [[Fritz Kreisler]].<ref name="HaddenLuce1952">{{cite book |author1=Briton Hadden |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qf7VAAAAMAAJ |title=Time |author2=Henry Robinson Luce |publisher=Time Incorporated |year=1952 |page=52}}</ref> Each conversion process took an average of 25 hours of lessons, and reportedly more than 95% of his students in private instruction were baptized.<ref name=time19520414/>

==Falling-out with Cardinal Spellman==
[[File:Cardinal Francis Spellman 1946.jpg|thumb|Cardinal Spellman (1946)]]
In the foreword of the 2008 edition of Sheen's autobiography, ''Treasure in Clay: The Autobiography of Fulton J. Sheen'', the journalist [[Raymond Arroyo]] explains why Sheen ended ''Life Is Worth Living.''<ref name="Treasure2008">{{cite book |title = Treasure in Clay: The Autobiography of Fulton J. Sheen |first = Fulton J. |last = Sheen |publisher = Doubleday |year = 2008}}</ref> Arroyo wrote that "It is widely believed that Cardinal [[Francis Spellman]] drove Sheen off the air."<ref name="Treasure2008" /><blockquote>"In the late 1950s, the government donated millions of dollars' worth of powdered milk to the New York Archdiocese. In turn, Cardinal Spellman handed that milk over to the Society for the Propagation of the Faith to distribute to the poor of the world. On at least one occasion, he demanded that the director of the Society, Bishop Sheen, {{em|pay}} the Archdiocese for the donated milk. He wanted millions of dollars. Despite Cardinal Spellman's considerable powers of persuasion and influence in Rome, Sheen refused. These were funds donated by the public to the missions, funds Sheen himself had personally contributed to and raised over the airwaves. He felt an obligation to protect them, even from the itchy fingers of his own Cardinal."<ref name="Treasure2008" /></blockquote>Spellman pleaded his case about the funds directly to [[Pope Pius XII]], who sided with him. Spellman later confronted Sheen and stated, "I will get even with you. It may take six months or ten years, but everyone will know what you are like."<ref name="Treasure2008" /> Besides being pressured to leave television, Sheen also "found himself unwelcome in the churches of New York City. Spellman canceled Sheen's annual Good Friday sermons at [[St. Patrick's Cathedral (Manhattan)|St. Patrick's Cathedral]] and discouraged clergy from socializing with him."<ref name="Treasure2008" /> In 1966, Spellman allegedly persuaded Pope Paul VI to appoint Sheen as bishop of Rochester and terminate his leadership at the Society for the Propagation of the Faith.<ref name="Treasure2008" /> On December 2, 1967, Spellman died in New York City.

Sheen never talked about the quarrel with Spellman, making only vague references to his "trials both inside and outside the Church".<ref name="Treasure2008" /> In his autobiography, Sheen even went so far as to praise Spellman.<ref name="Treasure2008" />

==Later years==
On October 15, 1969, one month after celebrating his 50th anniversary as a priest, Sheen resigned as bishop of Rochester. Pope Paul VI then appointed him as [[archbishop]] of the [[titular see]] of [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Newport and Menevia|Newport, Wales]]. The ceremonial position allowed Sheen to devote more time to his extensive writing. During his lifetime, Sheen wrote 73&nbsp;books and numerous articles and columns.<ref name="Trib09" />

On October 2, 1979, two months before Sheen's death, [[Pope John Paul II]] visited St. Patrick's Cathedral during his papal visit to the United States. During the ceremony, the pope embraced Sheen and said, "You have written and spoken well of the Lord Jesus Christ. You are a loyal son of the Church."<ref>{{cite web |title = The Cause for Canonization |url = https://fulton-sheen.catholic.edu/cause/ |publisher = Catholic University of America |access-date = December 4, 2020}}</ref>

==Death and legacy==
Beginning in 1977, Sheen "underwent a series of surgeries that sapped his strength and even made preaching difficult".<ref name=Treasure2008/> Throughout that time, he continued to work on his autobiography, parts of which "were recited from his sickbed as he clutched a crucifix."<ref name=Treasure2008/> Soon after that, Sheen underwent [[open-heart surgery]] at [[Lenox Hill Hospital]] in Manhattan.<ref name="Trib09" /> 

Sheen died on December 9, 1979, in his private chapel while praying before the [[Blessed Sacrament]].<ref name="CUA-bio" /> He was interred in the crypt of [[St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York|St. Patrick's Cathedral]] near the deceased [[Roman Catholic Bishops and Archbishops of New York|archbishops of New York]]. In 2019, after a long legal battle, the archdiocese transferred Sheen's remains to the Diocese of Peoria, which re-interred them in the Cathedral of St. Mary in Peoria.<ref name="transferral" />

* The official repository of Sheen's papers, television programs, and other materials is at [[St. Bernard's School of Theology and Ministry]] in Rochester.<ref>[http://www.stbernards.edu/fjsheen.htm The Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Archives] accessed August 15, 2007 {{webarchive |url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070228013946/http://www.stbernards.edu/fjsheen.htm |date = February 28, 2007 }}</ref>
* [[Joseph Campanella]] introduced the reruns of Sheen's various programs that are aired on EWTN. Reruns are also aired on the [[Trinity Broadcasting Network]].
* The Fulton J. Sheen Museum in Peoria houses the largest set of Sheen's personal items in five collections. It is operated by the Diocese of Peoria.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://celebratesheen.com/museum/ |title = Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Museum |publisher = Catholic Diocese of Peoria}}</ref>
* The Archbishop Fulton John Sheen Spiritual Center is located in El Paso, Illinois. The museum contains more Sheen artifacts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.archbishopfultonsheencentre.com/Museum.htm |publisher=Archbishop Fulton John Sheen Spiritual Centre |title=Archbishop Sheen Museum |access-date=September 13, 2022}}</ref>
* The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture in [[Lower Manhattan]] is named after him.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=About {{!}} Sheen Center for Thought and Culture |url=https://www.sheencenter.org/about/ |access-date=2025-03-30 |website=www.sheencenter.org |language=en}}</ref>
* The actor Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez adopted the stage name of [[Martin Sheen]] partly in admiration of the bishop.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_oMkQY2ico "Martin Sheen on Why He Changed His Name & Emilio Estevez on Why He Didn't Change His Name"]. Hudson Union Society, 2012.</ref>
* Sheen frequently celebrated mass at [[St. Agnes Church (New York City)|Saint Agnes Church]], in [[Midtown Manhattan]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/04/12/archives/notes-on-people-montana-governor-tells-of-i-hate-new-york-plan.html |title=Notes on People: Archbishop Sheen to Preach at St. Agnes's Tomorrow |first1=Clyde |last1=Haberman |first2=Albin |last2=Krebs |newspaper=The New York Times |date=April 12, 1979 |access-date=October 19, 2021 |quote=Sheen intends to continue tomorrow a tradition begun in 1927.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cny.org/stories/st-agnes-exhibit-looks-at-archbishop-sheens-on-air-ministry,5539 |title=St. Agnes Exhibit Looks at Archbishop Sheen's On-air Ministry |first=Ron |last=Lajoie |newspaper=Catholic New York |date=May 18, 2011 |access-date=October 19, 2021 |quote=For many years the church hosted his famous broadcasts. His last Good Friday homily was preached at the church in 1979.}}</ref> On October 7, 1980, New York Mayor [[Ed Koch]] renamed East 43rd Street in front of Saint Agnes as "Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Place".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://stagneschurchnyc.org/about-us |title=About Us |publisher=Church of Saint Agnes |access-date=October 19, 2021 |quote=It was at Saint Agnes Church that his sermons were carried throughout the world.}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite web |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=142596 |title=Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Place Historical Marker |first1=Larry |last1=Gertner |first2=Michael |last2=Herrick |publisher=The Historical Marker DataBase |access-date=October 19, 2021 |quote=October 7, 1980: Mayor Edward Koch proclaimed East 43rd Street between Lexington & Third Aves. Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Place}}</ref>

==Cause for canonization==
The Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation was formed in 1998 by Gregory J. Ladd and Lawrence F. Hickey to spread information about Sheen's life. The foundation approached Cardinal [[Cardinal John O'Connor|John O'Connor]] of the Archdiocese of New York for permission to commence the process of his cause, which was under the authority of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria|Diocese of Peoria]].<ref name="foundation"/> In 2002, Sheen's [[canonization|cause for canonization]] was officially opened by Bishop [[Daniel R. Jenky]] of Peoria. From then on, Sheen was referred to as a "[[Servant of God]]". On February 2, 2008, Sheen's archives were sealed at a ceremony during a special [[Mass (liturgy)|mass]] at the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria.<ref name=Trib09/> In 2009, the diocesan phase of the investigation ended  and the records were sent to the [[Congregation for the Causes of Saints]] at the Vatican.

On June 28, 2012, the Vatican announced that it had recognized Sheen's life as one of "heroic virtue",<ref>[http://www.news.va/en/news/decrees-of-the-congregation-for-the-causes-of-sa-5 Decrees of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, June 28, 2012]. Vatican Information Service, June 28, 2012.</ref> a major step towards eventual beatification.<ref name=":1" /> From then on, Sheen has been styled "Venerable Servant of God". According to the [[Catholic News Service]] and ''The Catholic Post'' (the official newspaper of the Peoria Diocese), the case of a newborn boy who had no discernible pulse for 61 minutes, who was about to be declared dead at [[OSF Saint Francis Medical Center]] in Peoria, Illinois, as a stillborn infant, and yet lived to be healthy without physical or mental impairment was in the preliminary stages of being investigated as the possible miracle needed for Sheen's potential beatification. If the miracle is approved at the diocesan level and then by the [[Congregation for the Causes of Saints]] at the Vatican by being both medically unexplainable and directly attributable theologically to Sheen's intercession according to expert panels in both subject areas, beatification may proceed. Another such miracle would be required for him to be considered for canonization.

On September 7, 2011, a tribunal of inquiry was sworn in to investigate the alleged healing. During a special mass on December 11, 2011, at St. Mary's Cathedral in Peoria, the documentation gathered by the tribunal over nearly three months was boxed and sealed. It was then shipped to the Vatican for consideration by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, concluding the diocesan tribunal's work.<ref>{{cite news |url = https://thecatholicpost.com/2011/12/13/evidence-of-alleged-miracle-with-sheen-link-heads-to-rome/ |newspaper = The Catholic Post |title = Evidence of alleged miracle with Sheen link heads to Rome |first = Tom |last = Dermody |publisher = Catholic Diocese of Peoria |date = December 13, 2011 |access-date = November 18, 2019}}</ref>

On Sunday, September 9, 2012, a mass of Thanksgiving and banquet was held at St. Mary's Cathedral and the Spalding Pastoral Center in celebration of the advancement of Sheen's cause. Attendees included Bishop Jenky, and his predecessor as Bishop of Peoria, Archbishop [[John J. Myers]] along with many clergy and religious from around the country. Copies of the ''[[positio]]'', the book detailing the documentation behind his cause, were presented to Myers and other attendees. According to statements made at the service, the medical and theological study of the possible miracles needed for his beatification and canonization was well underway. At least one miracle was being seriously considered. New procedures under [[Pope Benedict XVI]] stated that beatification should ideally occur in the candidate's home diocese. Therefore, Sheen's beatification would likely take place in Peoria, where it would be the first.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://fultonsheen.blogspot.com/ |title = Archbishop Fulton Sheen Foundation |publisher = Fultonsheen.blogspot.com |access-date = December 30, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.celebratesheen.com/ |title = Celebrate Sheen! |publisher = Celebrate Sheen! |access-date = December 30, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1203795.htm |archive-url = https://archive.today/20130118183056/http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1203795.htm |url-status = dead |archive-date = January 18, 2013 |title = World needs Archbishop Sheen's example of faith, virtue, says homilist |work = [[Catholic News Service]] |date = September 11, 2012 |access-date = December 30, 2013 }}</ref>

===Transfer of remains===
[[File:Fulton Sheen tomb.jpg|thumb|Archbishop Sheen's tomb, St. Mary's Cathedral, Peoria, Illinois (2023)]]
In September 2014, it was announced that the canonization cause would be suspended because of a disagreement with the Archdiocese of New York concerning the return of Sheen's remains to the Diocese of Peoria.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://cdop.org/post/PostFeatured.aspx?ID=3490 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140909063838/http://cdop.org/post/PostFeatured.aspx?ID=3490 |title = Sheen cause suspended, call for prayer |newspaper = The Catholic Post |date = September 3–5, 2014 |archive-date = September 9, 2014 |url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |url = https://archny.org/news/statement-of-joseph-zwilling-on-behalf-of-the-archdiocese-of-new-york |title = Statement concerning the cause of Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen |publisher = Archdiocese of New York |date = September 4, 2014}}</ref> In a press release on June 14, 2016, it was announced that Sheen's surviving family petitioned the [[New York Supreme Court]] to allow the transfer of Sheen's remains to Peoria. The press release stated that "on several occasions, the Archdiocese [of New York] has declared its desire to cooperate with the wishes of the family."<ref>{{Cite press release |url = http://fultonsheen.blogspot.com/2016/06/press-release-june-14-2016.html |title = Family petitions court to move the body of Archbishop Fulton Sheen to Peoria |date = June 14, 2016 |publisher = Archbishop Fulton Sheen Foundation |access-date=June 30, 2016}}</ref>

In an action brought in [[New York Supreme Court]] on November 16, 2016, Justice Arlene P. Bluth ordered the Archdiocese of New York to grant permission to disinter Sheen's body. The court ruled that the archdiocese's objection that Sheen would not want the disinterment was without factual basis. Given that his elevation to sainthood was being blocked, the court found the family had sufficient justification for moving his body.<ref>{{Cite web |url = https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=11056664200737378620 |title = Cunningham v. Trustees of St. Patrick's Cathedral |date = November 16, 2016}}</ref>

However, on February 6, 2018, the [[New York State Appellate Division]] overturned Bluth's decision and ordered an [[evidentiary hearing]] be held as to whether moving Sheen's body would be consistent with his wishes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.courts.state.ny.us/reporter/3dseries/2018/2018_00815.htm |title=Matter of Cunningham v Trustees of St. Patrick's Cathedral |date=February 6, 2018 |publisher=New York State Law Reporting Bureau}}</ref> The court noted that,<blockquote>"it is unclear if Archbishop Sheen's direction in his will to be buried in 'Calvary Cemetery, the official cemetery of the Archdiocese of New York' evinces an express intention to remain buried in the Archdiocese of New York, or was merely a descriptive term for Calvary Cemetery." </blockquote>However, after re-examining the case and holding the evidentiary hearing on June 9, 2018, Bluth affirmed her earlier ruling. The archdiocese allowed Peoria to begin the work on his cause for canonization, which eventually would have required at the least a collection of his relics.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/38605/civil-court-rules-fulton-sheens-remains-can-go-to-peoria |title = Civil court rules Fulton Sheen's remains can go to Peoria |work = Catholic News Agency |date = June 9, 2018}}</ref>

The archdiocese announced on June 9, 2019 that it was officially giving up the fight to keep Sheen's remains at St. Patrick's Cathedral.<ref>{{Cite news |url = https://nypost.com/2019/06/09/archdiocese-of-new-york-gives-up-fight-over-bishop-sheens-remains/ |title = Archdiocese of New York gives up fight over Bishop Sheen's remains |last = Lapin |first = Tamar |date = June 9, 2019 |newspaper = New York Post |access-date = June 10, 2019}}</ref> On June 27, 2019, the remains were transferred to St. Mary's Cathedral in Peoria.<ref name="transferral">{{Cite news |url = https://hoiabc.com/news/2019/06/27/venerable-archbishop-fulton-sheen-remains-transferred-to-peoria/ |title = Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen remains transferred to Peoria |date = June 27, 2019 |website = Heart of Illinois ABC |access-date = June 27, 2019 |archive-date = June 27, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190627144952/https://hoiabc.com/news/2019/06/27/venerable-archbishop-fulton-sheen-remains-transferred-to-peoria/ |url-status = dead }}</ref>

===Miracle recognized for beatification===
On July 6, 2019, the [[Dicastery for the Causes of Saints|Congregation for the Causes of Saints]] promulgated the decree approving Sheen's miracle needed for beatification. The miracle involved the unexplained recovery of James Fulton Engstrom, a boy stillborn in September 2010 to Bonnie and Travis Engstrom of the town of [[Goodfield, Illinois|Goodfield]], near Peoria. Engstrom's parents prayed for the intercession of Sheen for their son's recovery. Pope Francis approved the miracle, and Sheen was scheduled for beatification on December 21, 2019, at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Peoria.<ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/41720/archbishop-fulton-sheen-to-be-beatified |title = Archbishop Fulton Sheen to be beatified |first = Courtney |last = Mares |work = Catholic News Agency |date = July 6, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/42851/venerable-fulton-sheen-to-be-beatified-in-december |title=Venerable Fulton Sheen to be beatified in December |work=Catholic News Agency |date=November 18, 2019 |access-date=September 22, 2023}}</ref>

===Postponement of beatification===
On December 3, 2019, the Diocese of Peoria announced that the Vatican had postponed Sheen's beatification.<ref>{{cite press release |title = Postponement of Beatification |url = https://cdop.org/2019/12/postponement-of-beatification/ |publisher = Catholic Diocese of Peoria |access-date = December 3, 2019 |date = December 3, 2019}}</ref> [[Salvatore Matano]], the bishop of Rochester, had expressed concern that Sheen's alleged posting of a priest who had been named in a 1963 sexual misconduct case might be cited unfavorably in a report from New York State Attorney General [[Letitia James]]. The Diocese of Peoria countered that the priest had been assigned not by Sheen but by his successor, and that Sheen's involvement in the matter had already been "thoroughly examined" and that he had been "exonerated" and "never put children in harm's way."<ref name=delay>{{cite news |url = https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/42995/rochester-bishop-requested-fulton-sheen-beatification-delay |title = Rochester bishop requested Fulton Sheen beatification delay |first1 = J.D. |last1 = Flynn |first2 = Ed |last2 = Condon |work = [[Catholic News Agency]] |date = December 4, 2019 |access-date = December 4, 2019}}</ref>

As of August 2023, the Vatican had not announced whether or when the beatification would move ahead.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/will-fulton-sheen-finally-be-beatified |title=Will Fulton Sheen finally be beatified? |first=J.D. |last=Flynn |work=The Pillar |date=August 16, 2023 |access-date=September 22, 2023}}</ref> As of April 2024, New York State's Rochester investigation was still ongoing.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257411/new-york-prosecutor-brooklyn-diocese-reach-agreement-over-sex-abuse-mishandling |title=New York prosecutor, Brooklyn Diocese reach agreement over sex abuse mishandling |first=Daniel |last=Payne |work=Catholic News Agency |date=April 17, 2024 |access-date=April 17, 2024 | quote=(New York State Attorney General) [[Letitia James]] on Tuesday noted that investigations into the Archdiocese of New York, as well as into the Dioceses of Albany, Ogdensburg, Rochester, Rockville Centre, and Syracuse, remain ongoing.}}</ref>

The Diocese of Peoria continues to promote the beatification of Sheen.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 10, 2021 |title=Peoria diocese continues promoting Sheen's beatification cause |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247598/peoria-diocese-continues-promoting-sheens-beatification-cause |access-date=September 22, 2023 |work=Catholic News Agency}}</ref> In May of 2025, its bishop, [[Louis Tylka]], said he would be urging newly-elected [[Pope Leo XIV]], who like Sheen was born in Illinois, to move forward with the beatification.<ref name="Leo" />

==Selected bibliography==
*''God and Intelligence in Modern Philosophy'' (1925, Longmans, Green, and Co.)
*''The Seven Last Words'' (1933, The Century Co.)
*''Philosophy of Science'' (1934, Bruce Publishing Co.)
*''The Eternal Galilean'' (1934, Appleton-Century-Crofts)
*''The Mystical Body of Christ'' (1935, Sheed and Ward)
*''Calvary and the Mass'' (1936, P. J. Kenedy & Sons)
*''The Cross and the Beatitudes'' (1937, P. J. Kenedy & Sons)
*''Seven Words of Jesus and Mary'' (1945, P. J. Kenedy & Sons)
*''Communism and the Conscience of the West'' (1948, Bobbs-Merrill)
*''Peace of Soul'' (1949, McGraw–Hill)<ref>This book was Sheen's response to Rabbi [[Joshua L. Liebman]]'s 1946 best-seller ''Peace of Mind''.</ref>
*''Three to Get Married'' (1951, Appleton-Century-Crofts)
*''The World's First Love'' (1952, McGraw-Hill)
*''Life Is Worth Living'' Series 1–5 (1953–1957, McGraw–Hill)
*''Way to Happiness'' (1953, Maco Magazine)
*''Way to Inner Peace'' (1955, Garden City Books)
*''Life of Christ'' (1958, McGraw–Hill)
*''Missions and the World Crisis'' (1963, Bruce Publishing Co.)
*''The Power of Love'' (1965, Simon & Schuster)
*''Footprints in a Darkened Forest'' (1967, Meredith Press)
*''Lenten and Easter Inspirations'' (1967, Maco Ecumenical Books)
*''Treasure in Clay: The Autobiography of Fulton J. Sheen'' (1980, Doubleday & Co.)
*''Finding True Happiness'' (2014, Dynamic Catholic)
*''Your Life Is Worth Living: 50 Lessons to Deepen Your Faith'', Foreword by Bishop [[Robert Barron]] (2019, Image Catholic Books)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Farney, Kirk D. (2022). ''Ministers of a New Medium: Broadcasting Theology in the Radio Ministries of Fulton J. Sheen and Walter A. Maier.'' IVP Academic
* Hughes, Cheryl (2024). ''Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Convert Maker.'' Ignatius Press, San Francisco
* [[Thomas C. Reeves|Reeves, Thomas C.]] (2001). ''America's Bishop: The Life and Times of Fulton J. Sheen''. [[Encounter Books]], San Francisco.
* Riley, Kathleen L. (2004). ''Fulton J. Sheen: An American Catholic Response to the Twentieth Century''. St. Paul's/Alba House, Staten Island.
* Sherwood, Timothy H. (2010). ''The Preaching of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen: The Gospel Meets the Cold War''. Lexington Books.
* Sherwood, Timothy H. (2013). ''The Rhetorical Leadership of Fulton J. Sheen, Norman Vincent Peale, and Billy Graham in the Age of Extremes''. Lexington Books.
* Winsboro, Irvin D. S. & Epple, Michael (Summer 2009). "Religion, Culture, and the Cold War: Bishop Fulton J. Sheen and America's Anti-Communist Crusade of the 1950s", ''[[The Historian (journal)|Historian]]'', '''71''' (2): 209–233.

==External links==
{{commons}}
{{wikiquote}}
*{{Official}}
*{{IMDb name|0790679}}
*[http://www.archbishopsheencause.org/ The Archbishop Fulton John Sheen Foundation]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170227062252/http://www.bictel.be/Record/Home?id=UCL-ETD:oai:dial.uclouvain.be:boreal:147478 Library Catalog Record for Sheen's Ph.D. thesis] 
*[http://vault.fbi.gov/Bishop%20Fulton%20Sheen FBI file on Bishop Sheen]
*[https://keepthefaith.org/bishop-sheen/ Venerable Fulton J. Sheen]: 200 talks by Sheen available in MP3 format, along with streaming video of his Family Retreat
*[https://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19520414,00.html ''Time'' cover, Fulton J. Sheen, April 14, 1952]
*[http://www.archbishopfultonsheencentre.com Fulton J. Sheen Spiritual Centre – El Paso, IL] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220401022528/http://archbishopfultonsheencentre.com/ |date=April 1, 2022}}
*{{YouTube|qtzxwOPD250|Sheen Mass – Cause for Canonization}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-rel |ca}}
{{s-new |reason = Titular see erected}}
{{s-tul |title = Archbishop of Newport, Wales|years=1969–1979}}
{{s-aft |after = Howard G. Tripp}}
{{s-bef |before = [[James E. Kearney]]}}
{{s-ttl |title = [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester|Archbishop-Bishop of Rochester]] |years = 1966–1969}}
{{s-aft |after = [[Joseph Lloyd Hogan]]}}
{{s-bef |before = –}}
{{s-ttl |title = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York|Auxiliary Bishop of New York]] |years = 1951–1966}}
{{s-aft |after = –}}
{{s-new |reason = Titular see erected}}
{{s-tul |title = [[Caesariana (Numidia)|Bishop of Caesariana]] |years = 1951–1966}}
{{s-aft |after = [[Angelo Felici]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester}}
{{Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York}}
{{Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria}}
{{History of Catholic theology}}
{{Subject bar |portal1 = Biography |portal2 = Catholicism |portal3 = New York |portal4 = Saints}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Carmelites}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheen, Fulton J.}}
[[Category:1895 births]]
[[Category:1979 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American Roman Catholic titular archbishops]]
[[Category:20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States]]
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[[Category:20th-century American Roman Catholic theologians]]
[[Category:20th-century American memoirists]]
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[[Category:Burials at St. Patrick's Cathedral (Manhattan)]]
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