Fulton Sheen was born in El Paso, Illinois in 1895. He was ordained priest in September 1919. From 1926 to 1950 he taught philosophy at the Catholic University of America. He then became National Director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith (A.P.F) in the United States, a post he held with extraordinary distinction until 1966, when he was appointed Archbishop of Rochester. He died on 9th December 1979.

‘My greatest love has always been the Missions of the Church’. These are among Fulton Sheen’s best known words. During his sixteen years as National Director in the U.S. he developed the world wide work of the Propagation of the Faith, making its universal mission support the focus of every parish in that vast continent. He established what Vatican Council II was to later assert — that the Propagation of the Faith should have ‘first place’ in our worldwide missionary endeavours (Ad Gentes 38) because of its service to all the missions, where the Church is young or poor or both.

Fulton Sheen was a high-profile media personality in his own right. From 1951 to 1956 he had his own weekly national TV programme, ‘Life is worth living’. He was a gifted speaker, and a much sought-after preacher, lecturer and retreat master. His words were always inspiring, his material rich with the wisdom of Sacred Scripture and his deft use of simple examples a ready aid to those seeking the light of God’s word. He wrote countless books, all crafted to make their depth and doctrine digestible food for the enquiring mind. Many of his books, tapes and videos are still much in demand.

Fulton Sheen was a missionary long before he became involved with ‘the missions’. His work of speaking and writing were the expression of his perceived role in the Church’s mission. The words of Jesus at the end of Matthew’s Gospel ‘Go, teach all nations’, inspired him. He knew that the truth of Christ needed to be taught, and that the blessings of His Kingdom were for all peoples. His specific work in support of the missions followed on from the Lord’s missionary mandate. We all share it. As the Baptism liturgy reminds us: ‘God the Father, you call those who have been baptised to announce the Good News of Jesus Christ to people everywhere’. This, Fulton Sheen lived to perfection.
 
It is easy to think that the Church is missionary only when or because people are poor. This is a mistake. If we think like this we forget that the Crucified and Risen Jesus loves us all - rich as well as poor. The love of Jesus is God’s ‘merciful love’. Our mission is to help make it real so that people will indeed come closer to Christ in their personal, family and social lives and be people of hope. When the person and work of Jesus is central to our conscious existence, the missionary character of our Baptism comes alive. The seal of this sacrament remains with us all through life. Being baptised into the faith of the Church and being missionary are two sides of the one coin.

Archbishop Sheen teaches us something more. Every day of his life, as priest and later as a bishop, he spent one hour before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Keeping this up was not at all easy. He travelled much and his hours were often unpredictable. Yet he remained faithful to his daily Eucharistic hour. From this enduring union with Jesus, ‘the Bread of life’, he sustained his commitment to the mission of Christ, whether in his homeland or overseas. Of the Catholic Church he wrote: ‘Communion is fellowship with the entire Mystical Body of Christ. The Eucharist dissolves all boundaries, nationalities and races into a supernatural fellowship where all are brothers and sisters of the divine Son, and adopted children of their heavenly Father’. Praying and working for this we rightly call ‘mission’. (Visit www.archbishopsheencause.org for more details about Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen and his cause for possible beatification.)

Canon Brendan MacCarthy

Diocese of Arundel & Brighton