Show me your feet. Are they wounded in service? This is a quote by the American Roman Catholic Archbishop Fulton Sheen. He was one of the most visible Catholics of 1950s whose preaching was famous in radio and television. In fact, he is regarded as the first televangelist who brought church to 30 million American living rooms.
Sheen was born Fulton John Sheen in May 1895 in Illinois, Chicago. In Peoria, Illinois he served as an altar boy and years later he would be ordained into priesthood there. He attended local schools for his basic education then proceeded to Catholic University of America to further his studies in Philosophy.
After his degree, he went for his doctorate in philosophy in Belgium at the University of Leuven. While there, he became the first American to win the Cardinal Mercier prize an award seeking to recognize contribution to International Philosophy. After serving in different regions, he was ordained a bishop in New York.
Fulton began evangelism through mass media in 1930. His first show was known as Catholic Hour broadcast on radio every week on Sundays. It was right in the middle of World War II and he took advantage of the platform to preach against the war. Besides, he conducted the first ever church service on mass media. The popularity of his program among viewers won him an Emmy award.
Controversy was also part of era of Archbishop Fulton. In 1953, in his program he publicly denounced the leadership of Soviet which was led by Joseph Stalin. He dramatized the episode using the burial scene of Julius Caesar of the Shakespeare fame. He predicted doom to Stalin and other leaders of the Soviet saying that they would indeed face judgment. People were shocked when Stalin died in the same week as a result of stroke.
Fulton died of cardiac diseases in 1979 after an open heart surgery. His remains were buried at St. Patricks cathedral in New York which has since been the cause of his delayed canonization. His cause for canonization began in 2002 where he earned the title Servant of God. In 2012, the Vatican began his path to beatification by recognizing the heroic virtue that has characterized the life of Sheen and therefore earned him the title of Venerable.
Before one is considered for beatification, they have to have performed a miracle. The event that is defined to be a miracle should be beyond the explanation of science or nature. In the case of Sheen, he is said to have healed a baby boy who was declared stillborn after missing a pulse for 61 minutes. The mother of infant is said to have interceded to Fulton. The infant survived with no impairments and the case proved beyond scientific explanation by a Vatican medical team.
Another similar miracle is necessary for him to be canonized as a saint. The process of beatification and canonization of Sheen has however been stopped indefinitely. This is because his remains have to be transported to his home church in Peoria. It is the hope of all his fans that the man who brought Catholicism to the living rooms of so many American homes is eventually canonized.
Sheen was born Fulton John Sheen in May 1895 in Illinois, Chicago. In Peoria, Illinois he served as an altar boy and years later he would be ordained into priesthood there. He attended local schools for his basic education then proceeded to Catholic University of America to further his studies in Philosophy.
After his degree, he went for his doctorate in philosophy in Belgium at the University of Leuven. While there, he became the first American to win the Cardinal Mercier prize an award seeking to recognize contribution to International Philosophy. After serving in different regions, he was ordained a bishop in New York.
Fulton began evangelism through mass media in 1930. His first show was known as Catholic Hour broadcast on radio every week on Sundays. It was right in the middle of World War II and he took advantage of the platform to preach against the war. Besides, he conducted the first ever church service on mass media. The popularity of his program among viewers won him an Emmy award.
Controversy was also part of era of Archbishop Fulton. In 1953, in his program he publicly denounced the leadership of Soviet which was led by Joseph Stalin. He dramatized the episode using the burial scene of Julius Caesar of the Shakespeare fame. He predicted doom to Stalin and other leaders of the Soviet saying that they would indeed face judgment. People were shocked when Stalin died in the same week as a result of stroke.
Fulton died of cardiac diseases in 1979 after an open heart surgery. His remains were buried at St. Patricks cathedral in New York which has since been the cause of his delayed canonization. His cause for canonization began in 2002 where he earned the title Servant of God. In 2012, the Vatican began his path to beatification by recognizing the heroic virtue that has characterized the life of Sheen and therefore earned him the title of Venerable.
Before one is considered for beatification, they have to have performed a miracle. The event that is defined to be a miracle should be beyond the explanation of science or nature. In the case of Sheen, he is said to have healed a baby boy who was declared stillborn after missing a pulse for 61 minutes. The mother of infant is said to have interceded to Fulton. The infant survived with no impairments and the case proved beyond scientific explanation by a Vatican medical team.
Another similar miracle is necessary for him to be canonized as a saint. The process of beatification and canonization of Sheen has however been stopped indefinitely. This is because his remains have to be transported to his home church in Peoria. It is the hope of all his fans that the man who brought Catholicism to the living rooms of so many American homes is eventually canonized.
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