Archbishop Fulton Sheen drew tens of millions of Americans to their TV sets with little more than a chalkboard, a cape and a message about Christianity, morality and the threat of communism.
More than seven decades later, conservative commentator Michael Knowles said he believes the legendary Catholic broadcaster could deliver essentially the same message and immediately find himself branded a “far-right extremist.”
“I think he would be taking his first breath to utter the first syllable of the very first sentence just when someone called him a far-right extremist,” Knowles told Fox News Digital. “He wouldn’t need to change his message.”
BISHOP ROBERT BARRON: THE REAL REASON COMMUNISTS FEAR RELIGION AND WANT BELIEVERS SILENCED
Sheen was formally beatified, or formally “blessed” by the Roman Catholic Church Thursday in St. Louis, marking a major step toward possible sainthood for one of the most recognizable religious figures of 20th century America.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump joined Catholics celebrating Sheen’s life, the White House called him the first American-born bishop to be beatified by the Catholic Church.
Long before podcasts and social media gave religious figures direct access to enormous audiences, Sheen became one of America’s most successful religious broadcasters.
His radio program, “The Catholic Hour,” reached more than 4 million people, according to Vatican News.
He later made the leap to television, where “Life Is Worth Living” eventually captivated an estimated 30 million viewers. The format was strikingly simple.
AMERICA HAS FOUNDING FATHERS A CATHOLIC SAINT WAS A FOUNDING MOTHER
Wearing his clerical robes and standing before a chalkboard, Sheen spoke directly to viewers about faith, morality, suffering and the dignity of the human person, weaving theology with stories and humor.
“He was the very first televangelist,” said Knowles, who argued Sheen understood something about mass communication that remains true in the digital age. “He went where the people were.”
Sheen’s reach extended far beyond a conventional religious audience.
The White House also noted that he competed with entertainment giants Milton Berle and Frank Sinatra in weekly ratings, appeared on the cover of Time magazine and won an Emmy for outstanding television personality.
CHASTITY BEFORE MARRIAGE? NO COHABITATION? DATA SAYS COUPLES WHO SKIP BOTH MAY HAVE STRONGER UNIONS
Among the millions of Americans who encountered Sheen through television was a boy who would eventually become the first American pope. Pope Leo XIV has recalled encountering Sheen’s evangelization while growing up. Decades later, Leo approved Sheen’s beatification in St. Louis.
Knowles said Sheen would likely have embraced podcasts, social media and other modern platforms with the same enthusiasm. But the message delivered through those platforms, Knowles argued, could put Sheen at odds with parts of modern American culture.
Asked what would get the bishop “canceled” first in 2026, his Catholicism, his anti-communism or his refusal to apologize for either, Knowles said the three were difficult to separate.
“His absolutely unapologetic apologetics,” Knowles said.
Knowles argued that Sheen’s traditional Catholic teachings about sex, marriage and human nature would draw particularly fierce criticism today.
“They would have tried to cancel him,” Knowles said, before adding that Sheen would ultimately have “the last laugh in heaven.”
Sheen’s opposition to communism was central to his public ministry and was emphasized by the White House as Americans marked his beatification. The presidential message described Sheen as bringing Christian teaching to a world “threatened by the titanic forces of communism.”
The White House also recalled Sheen warning in the 1960s about what he described as a destructive impulse sweeping American society.
BISHOP ROBERT BARRON: THE WAR ON CHRISTIANS IS REAL, AND THE WORLD CAN NO LONGER STAY SILENT
“Our nation is too full of those that are crying, ‘Down,'” Sheen said in the remarks shared by the White House, before listing schools, churches, teachers, government and police. “Can you build anything down?”
Knowles said Sheen’s warnings continue to resonate because the underlying debate about human nature has not disappeared in modern times.
He tied the recurring appeal of communist and utopian political movements to the Christian doctrine of original sin, arguing that political systems fail when they begin from a mistaken conception of human nature.
“When their policies are implemented, they fail,” Knowles said.
Yet Sheen’s journey to Thursday’s beatification ultimately rests not on his television ratings or political commentary, but on the Catholic Church’s assessment of his religious life and a miracle attributed to his intercession.
His cause for sainthood opened in Peoria, Illinois, in 2002. The miracle accepted for Sheen’s beatification centered on a child born in 2010 without a heartbeat or respiration, according to an account published by Vatican News. After 61 minutes, the child was revived and ultimately recovered to full health.
Pope Francis approved the miracle in 2019, clearing a major hurdle in Sheen’s path toward beatification. The Catholic Church’s recognition of Sheen was not presented merely as a celebration of his TV celebrity.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, who represented Pope Leo at Thursday’s beatification Mass, emphasized Sheen’s relationship with Christ and missionary work rather than his fame. In an apostolic letter read during the ceremony, Leo described Sheen as an evangelist who used modern communications to proclaim the Gospel.
Sheen’s connections to the modern papacy stretch much further back. He participated in the Second Vatican Council, where, according to a biography published by Vatican News, he encountered two clerics who would eventually become popes: Archbishop Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, and Father Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI.
Shortly before Sheen’s death, his path crossed John Paul II’s again. During the pope’s 1979 visit to New York, a physically weakened Sheen approached John Paul at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and attempted to kneel before him. John Paul lifted him up and embraced him, according to the Vatican account.
“You have written and spoken well of the Lord Jesus Christ,” John Paul told him. “You are a loyal son of the Church.”
Sheen died just two months later on Dec. 9, 1979.
For Knowles, however, Sheen’s ability to draw an enormous audience wasn’t simply a product of theology or the novelty of television.
“He took life seriously. He just didn’t take himself seriously,” Knowles said.
That combination allowed Sheen to tackle weighty subjects without becoming ponderous, Knowles argued, and helped make complex religious and philosophical arguments accessible to an audience far beyond practicing Catholics.
People might discover Sheen through his anti-communism position, cultural traditionalism or even an appreciation for formal dress among people tired of seeing “sweatpants at the airport,” Knowles joked.
But beneath the television celebrity and political commentary was a priest who maintained a daily Holy Hour before the Eucharist throughout his ministry, a practice Sheen called “the hour that makes my day,” according to the Vatican News biography.
Admiring Sheen is one thing, Knowles suggested, but following his example is another.
“It would be far better for you and for all of us to follow his example,” Knowles said.
