Bishop Fulton J. Sheen
A New Blessed with Carmelite Connections
The year 2023 was the 75th anniversary of Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen becoming a professed member of the Third Order of the Carmelites. He made his profession on July 17th, 1948, in the chapel of Whitefriars Hall in Washington, DC. The prior general, Kilian Lynch, received the archbishop’s commitment.
Venerable Fulton Sheen is scheduled to be beatified on September 24, 2026, in St. Louis, Missouri. He was declared Venerable in 2012, with a miracle involving a stillborn baby’s recovery approved in 2019. The future archbishop was born in El Paso, Illinois in 1895, although he later served as auxiliary bishop of New York (1951-1966) and bishop of Rochester, New York (1966-1969).
According to Allan Smith, director of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Mission Society of Canada, Sheen loved Carmel and he kept up a lifetime of correspondence with many communities of Carmelites. He is quoted as saying of the Carmelites who prayed for him – “Your Carmelite prayers and sufferings do more good than all our preaching and hectic actions. We make the noise, we get the credit, we enjoy the consolation of a victory, seen and tasted. You are responsible for it and yet you cannot see the fruits. But you will on the day, when the Cross appears in the heavens, and every man is rewarded according to his works.”
Sheen also said “I want to cling onto Carmel for I love its love of Jesus. I refuse to give it up and like the blind man of Jericho, I shall go on shouting on to you continually to cure my blindness and my ills.”
Archbishop Sheen loved St. Therese and her devotion to the Holy Face. He spoke and wrote often about her and this special devotion.
During his time as auxiliary bishop of New York, Sheen was a trailblazer for evangelizing using the then new medium called television. His program garnered 10 million viewers each week at its peak. His television show, Life Is Worth Living, won an Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Television Personality in 1953. The Emmy is still given today, an award recognizing one’s contribution by others in the television industry. Life Is Worth Living, aired from 1952-1957 discussing various aspects of Catholicism. Two similar programs, also featuring Sheen, followed in 1958-1968. Prior to television, Sheen appeared on the radio program The Catholic Hour from 1928-1952.
Sheen discussing moral issues of the day, often used a blackboard to make drawings and lists to help explain the topic. When the blackboard was filled, Sheen would move to another part of the television set, and request one of his "angels" (one of the TV crew) to clean the blackboard.
The website BishopSheenToday.com is one of the best resource libraries, on the new Blessed, featuring his many fine books, videos and audio recordings.
