Fulton J. Sheen

Fulton John Sheen, Fulton J. Sheen also, actually Peter John Sheen ( born May 8, 1895 in El Paso, Illinois; † 9 December 1979) was Roman Catholic bishop in the U.S. and one of the most influential Christian media personalities in the U.S. 20. century.

Life

Sheen grew up in his family as the eldest of four other brothers. His parents ran a farm. Although his original first name was Peter, he used from childhood to the birth name of his mother, Fulton, as a given name. Sheen was ordained a priest on September 20, 1919 in Peoria.

On 28 May 1951 he was instituted by Pope Pius XII. appointed Titular Bishop of Caesariana and auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of New York. He received his episcopal consecration on 11 June 1951, the Secretary of the Consistorial, Adeodato Giovanni Cardinal Piazza OCD; Co-consecrators were the Curia Bishop and later secretary of the Evangelisierungskongregation, Leone Giovanni Battista Nigris, and Archbishop Martin John O'Connor, former president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

On 21 October 1966 he was Paul VI. Bishop ordered from Rochester. In 1969, he was the office of diocesan bishop again and was appointed Titular Archbishop of Newport. Subsequently, he worked in the Archdiocese of New York until his death in 1979.

Work

Fulton J. Sheen was a very prolific author, but also took advantage early on the new media of radio and television for preaching purposes. From 1930 he conducted a weekly radio program entitled The Catholic Hour. From 1951 he worked in television and thus became one of the first " televangelist ". For the DuMont Television Network and later for ABC, he hosted the weekly magazine Life Is Worth Living, in which he kept half-hour lectures on a life - or faith issue. In 1952 he was awarded an Emmy. From 1961 to 1968 he headed a similar program called The Fulton Sheen Program.

Personality

Bishop Sheen was through his television programs in the 1950s and 60s, one of the most famous personalities of the Catholic Church in the United States. The youthful-looking man with a penetrating gaze and expressive voice made ​​it, with understandable words, a lot of humor, but also drama, even complex theological issues almost bring a large audience. Sheen was extremely formed and followed the current trends in literature, art and philosophy. He often quoted poems in his lectures and sermons, and made ​​reference to non- Christian writers and philosophers.

Votes to Sheen

• In October 1979, Pope John Paul II embraced spontaneously during his visit to the U.S. Sheen at New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral and thanked him with the words: "You have good written and spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ. You are a loyal son of the Church! "
• The evangelical preacher Billy Graham described Sheen as " the greatest communicator of the 20th century".
• The actor Martin Sheen chose his stage name to Fulton John Sheen.

Beatification process

The process for the beatification Fulton Sheen was opened by the Diocese of Peoria on September 29, 2003. Since then, Sheen is known in the Catholic Church with the title " Servant of God ". The diocesan process was completed in 2008 and brought the documents to Rome, where the beatification process was introduced on April 15, 2008. On June 28, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI. the heroic virtues of Fulton Sheen attested and thus the beatification process also officially opened.

Bibliography

• Reeves, Thomas C.: America's Bishop: The Life and Times of Fulton J. Sheen, Encounter Books 2001, ISBN 1-893554-25-2
• Riley, Kathleen L.: Fulton J. Sheen: An American Catholic Response to the Twentieth Century, Alba House 2004, ISBN 0-8189-0915-3
• Chess Mayr, Alcuin: Radio and television bishop. To act of Bishop Fulton Sheen, in: Vobiscum (February 2010 ), pp. 10-17.
• Sheen, Fulton J.: Treasure in Clay: The Autobiography of Fulton J. Sheen, Doubleday & Company, 1980, ISBN 0-3851-7709-7
• Sheen, Fulton J.: The Zen Rainbow, VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, 2003, ISBN 978-3-8311-3358-1
• Sheen, Fulton J.: Philosophy of religion: the impact of modern knowledge on religion, New York: Appleton - Century- Crofts, Inc., 1948