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Sons and Daughters of the same Father. Fulton Sheen and racial segregation

Bishop Fulton J. Sheen in cassock, ferraiolo and pectoral cross, standing among bookshelves beside a carved statue of the Madonna and Child, on the set of his television programme.
Fulton J. Sheen on the set of his television programme. Fred Palumbo, 1952. Library of Congress, New York World-Telegram & Sun Collection. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

Catholic IntelligenceUpdated 1 min read

Fulton J. Sheen used an inheritance to help build a maternity ward for Black mothers in Alabama during the era of racial segregation.

According to Thomas C. Reeves in the book America’s Bishop: The Life and Times of Fulton J. Sheen, the priest received an inheritance in 1938 from Duchess Brady, a benefactor he met in Lourdes. Sheen gave a large part of these funds to the Diocese of Mobile to assist the Sisters of Mercy in constructing a maternity ward for Black mothers. At the time, Black mothers in Mobile were barred from hospitals reserved for white patients.

The program funded by these donations was later linked to Martin de Porres Hospital. This effort eventually grew, leading to the opening of a larger hospital facility in 1950 following a major fundraising campaign.

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