Trump marks beatification of Archbishop Fulton Sheen
The President issued a message honoring the first American-born bishop to be beatified, citing his pioneering television ministry.
President Donald Trump issued a message Sept. 24 marking the beatification of Blessed Fulton Sheen, who became the first American-born bishop beatified by the Catholic Church in a ceremony in St. Louis, Missouri.
The White House message traced Sheen’s life from his birth in central Illinois in the late 1800s through his ordination and 1951 consecration as auxiliary bishop of New York. It highlighted his television program, “Life Is Worth Living,” which drew roughly 30 million weekly viewers and, as the message put it, “shocked the entertainment industry by besting American legends like Milton Berle and Frank Sinatra in weekly ratings.” The show earned Sheen an Emmy for most outstanding television personality.
The message recalled Pope John Paul II’s words to Sheen during a 1979 visit, two months before his death: “You have written and spoken well of the Lord Jesus. You are a loyal son of the Church.” Sheen died that December while praying in his private chapel.
The White House also pointed to Sheen’s warnings in the 1960s about social unrest, recalling his admonition that Americans stop talking about tearing things down. “Can you build anything down?” he had asked, urging the country to embrace a God-centered approach of building up. “Let’s begin now to use the word ‘Up.’ Up from all of this filth. Up from this violence… Up — up to God,” he urged his viewers.
Sheen is widely regarded as a forerunner of modern Catholic media and its use in evangelization, having used radio and television to reach audiences far beyond the pulpit decades before the rise of cable news and the internet.
Following the Sept. 24 Mass of Beatification, organizers have planned a series of events to mark the day, including Masses of thanksgiving at the St. Louis Cathedral, talks at parishes in Peoria, a hometown festival in Peoria, and the inaugural Sheen Awards Gala.
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