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Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, pictured in an undated photo, is remembered as one of the most influential and innovative evangelists in American history.
OSV News photo/courtesy Archbishop Fulton Sheen Foundation
June 2, 2026
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Vatican City
Pope Leo XIV on June 1 praised Venerable Fulton J. Sheen as “a light of faith, hope and love” whose pioneering radio and television broadcasts brought the Gospel to millions of Americans, including the Pope himself as a child.
Speaking to members of the Pontifical Mission Societies at the Vatican, Pope Leo said it was providential that Archbishop Sheen will be beatified Sept. 24 in St. Louis during the centennial year of the mission societies he once led.
“I myself am a witness of his evangelization when I was growing up,” the Pope said. “Archbishop Sheen was a light of faith, hope and love that shone through the radio and television media for decades,” Pope Leo said. “His broadcasts touched millions with the hope of the Gospel and his initiatives and efforts resulted in enormous spiritual and material aid to the Churches in areas of first evangelization.”
Born in Illinois in 1895, Sheen became one of the most influential Catholic communicators in U.S. history through NBC radio’s The Catholic Hour and the television program Life Is Worth Living.
Sheen also spent 16 years leading the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, one of the four Pontifical Mission Societies, raising significant support for missions worldwide.
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CNS photo/Vatican Media
