Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the death of Servant of God Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. Archbishop Dolan will celebrate a Mass at St. Patrick's Cathederal in New York at 5:30 pm today. (Wish I could be there). While I was too young to remember watching him on TV, I did have the blessing of hearing him speak twice. The 1st time was in my hometown of Oelwein. The 2nd was in the mid 70s at Loras College when I was a student there. Both times he had just as much spark as he did back in the 50s on TV. & that includes his use of his ferraiolo (cape) for emphasis. IMHO he developed it into an art form. He spoke on Love both times. I wish now that I had a recording of that talk. I am sure it exists somewhere as he gave it many times.

That aside, Even today, Bishop Sheen exemplifies what it truly means to be a priest. His love for Jesus & deep devotion to the Eucharist is well known. I am not going to put him up as perfect, he wasn't. (For valid reasons, he didn't like chicken.) Rather, his words & example show us a man who truly loved Jesus & desired to serve Him in all he did. I highly recomend that you read his autobiography Treasure in Clay. For that matter, any of his books is well worth getting & reading. Since the cause website as well as many others have his bio, I won't bother to repeat it here.

Rather I want to encourage you to read his writings (most of his books are in print or available at libraries) as well as listen to his talks. Even though a few things have changed, like the end of the Soviet Union, his words are just as fresh & just as needed today. In fact, at times, it seems like God gave him insight into where we were heading so that he could be a prophetic voice not only warning us, but calling us to repent & turn back to the path God wants for us.

I got a copy of Through The Year With Fulton Sheen (originally Servant, now Ignatius Press) several years ago & even now I as still seeing fresh applications of what he wrote.

Currently his cause in in the hands of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The initial investigation was finished & all the materials were sent to Rome by the Diocese of Peoria where he was born. After further investigation of the materials sent by a panel of prelates, other members, & consultors of the congregation a report & recommendation will be given to the Congregation's Pro-Prefect, Archbishop Angelo Amato. He will forward his recommendations with their report to Papa Benedetto. The Pope will make the final decision as to whether he has lived the theological & ecclesiastical virtues. If the Pope approves, he would be called "Venerable". Then the investigation into "alledged" miracles attributed to his intercession will begin. Currently there are 2 that have been sent to Rome to be authenticated. 1 needs to be authenticated for him to be beatified. Then another would be needed for his canonization. IMHO it is only a matter of God's timing.

So, let us praise God for the gift of Archbishop Sheen & pary that God will quickly see that he is raised to the honor of the altar.

Websites with video & audio recordings available (some you can listen to or download for free, others have them for sale. There are also many places you can order copies of his books from as well.

Life Is Worth Living [In association w/ St. Bernard’s Seminary in Rochester, NC the official repository of Sheen's papers, television programs, and other materials.] Audio & video recordings

Keep the Faith MP3 downloads for sale

FultonSheen.com MP3 downloads for sale, several writings for free as well as a few videos

Free audios: ACTS Catholic Apologetics

Radio Broadcasts of Bishop Sheen (RadioMickDanger.com)

24 Hours of Life is Worth Living (EWTN & St. Joseph Communications which also sells some CDs of his talks)

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Archbishop Dolan to mark 30th anniversary of Archbishop Sheen’s death with memorial Mass

"Fulton the Great," 30 Years On