He’s still forming disciples’: Catholics describe Fulton Sheen’s influence at beatification
From radio listeners to young Catholics discovering his television recordings, attendees described how the newly beatified archbishop’preaching, prayer life, and use of media continue to shape their faith.
Catholics gathered for Fulton Sheen’s beatification in St. Louis told Zeale News that the archbishop’s influence continues through his preaching and example, reaching those who heard him during his lifetime and those discovering his work today.
The mission of ‘America’s Apostle’ continues
Author Allan Smith, an expert on the now-Blessed Fulton Sheen, spoke with Zeale News while signing copies of America’s Apostle, the official book commemorating the archbishop’s beatification.
Smith pointed to a Sheen quote that has inspired him: “Unless souls are saved, nothing is saved.”
“It’s all about saving souls,” Smith remarked. “And what Fulton Sheen was doing over the years was forming disciples.”
Smith said he was grateful for Sheen’s influence as “America’s Apostle,” crediting the archbishop with forming him and his father, who is a convert.
“It's all about saving souls, and all of us becoming disciples of Jesus Christ. And who better to teach us than Fulton Sheen? He has the answers. And so let's keep saving our souls and our friends, family, and others.”
Smith also looked beyond the day’s celebration to Sheen’s continuing place in the life of the Church.
“There's always sainthood, but the work continues. He's still teaching us. He's still forming disciples. He's still converting so many people to the faith. It’s just another day in eternity. It’s special to have good friends, and we have a good friend in Fulton Sheen.”
Devotion to Sheen becomes a family affair
Sheen’s influence also became a family devotion for Tori Gossen of Lafayette, Louisiana. In a Sept. 29 interview with Zeale News, she said her husband’s devotion to the archbishop grew into one shared by their family.
“My husband was in seminary for a while, years ago, and that was one of his favorite authors to read and one of his favorite, most inspirational people,” she said.
That devotion brought the couple and their children to Sheen’s beatification in St. Louis.
“So just being there, it just felt like everything was coming kind of full circle. We couldn't really pass up that opportunity,” Gossen said.
Before the beatification, the family traveled to Peoria, Illinois, to venerate Sheen’s tomb.
“We had a priest friend traveling with us, which was very special, so he was able to do Mass for us the days we were together,” Gossen said. “So that was a beautiful, beautiful pilgrimage as a family.”
At the beatification, Gossen also reflected on the experience of celebrating alongside so many Catholics.
“It was beautiful seeing all of the Catholics gathered together,” she said. “It was like a little taste of heaven.”
Their youngest son carries Sheen’s name. Gossen said she and her husband had struggled to choose a name until Fulton stood out to her one night as she searched for boys’ names.
“So I was looking at little boy names, and the first one that I saw was Fulton, and I immediately knew that was his name,” she said.
Since Fulton’s birth, the family’s devotion has deepened. Gossen said they often pray novenas seeking Sheen’s intercession.
“We've grown even stronger in our devotion to him since our Fulton was born,” she said.
Their daughters had also joined in praying novenas to Sheen. Gossen said bringing the children to the beatification gave them an opportunity to practice their faith and celebrate together.
“Bringing them, even though they're little, and they might not completely remember, it made it a family affair, which was kind of what we ended up thinking was more important, having all of our family together to celebrate,” she said.
Gossen said she believed the Lord was still revealing the significance of the experience.
“I think that there's fruits that aren't even visible yet,” she said. “I think that it was such a big, momentous day that it was almost overwhelming, and I don't know if it's completely absorbed.”
A voice that spans generations
Other pilgrims pointed to particular aspects of Sheen’s spiritual life that continue to influence their own.
Sheen’s devotion to a daily Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament stood out to a woman from Colorado, who said his example renewed her desire to spend time in prayer before the Eucharist.
“That’s what I love about him. That it’s like reigniting a reason to do that, a reason for it,” she told Zeale News. “And that he did that every day of his life and then he died in front of the Blessed Sacrament. I mean, that’s really inspiring.”
For a woman from Iowa, Sheen’s voice had been familiar since childhood. The sisters at her Catholic high school assigned students to listen to him on the radio, she said, while her mother tuned in nearly every Sunday morning.
Decades later, she continues to read his work.
“I’m reading his book Life of Christ for the second time,” she said. “It’s such an inspirational thing because it tells it like it is, but you could understand it, the way he always talked.”
She remembered first encountering Sheen primarily through radio before later seeing him on television.
“Very talented writer, a speaker for our times,” she said.
Those old broadcasts are now introducing Sheen to Catholics who were born long after his death.
Two women from Canada told Zeale News that their mother played episodes of “Life Is Worth Living” for them, allowing Sheen’s pioneering use of television to reach another generation.
“I think it’s just a sign of how we can use modern technology for a good way in our day,” one of them said.
They were among more than 50,000 people who gathered for Sheen’s Sept. 24 beatification Mass, as Zeale News reported. Pilgrims came to St. Louis from across the U.S. and countries including Brazil, Italy, and Poland.
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