The Broadcast Saint

The Church will declare Fulton J. Sheen a saint in St. Louis on September 24. A priest, professor, and religious broadcaster, Sheen reached this milestone following a delay that began in 2019 when his beatification ceremony was paused weeks before it could take place.

During the 1950s, Sheen hosted the television program Life Is Worth Living, which attracted as many as thirty million weekly viewers. He used a chalkboard and a cape to present theology, often appearing in network time slots alongside secular entertainers like Milton Berle. While some critics within the Church expressed concern that broadcasting on television alongside variety shows and sitcoms might cheapen the sacred, Sheen maintained that the medium was a neutral tool for reaching souls.