Fulton J. Sheen - Vatican II Council Collection

An inventory of Fulton J. Sheen - Vatican II Council Collection at The American Catholic History Research Center and University Archives

Mailing Address: The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. 20064

Telephone: 202-319-5065

Email: archives@mail.lib.cua.edu

URL: http://libraries.cua.edu/achrcua/index.html

Biographical Note

Peter John Sheen, known for his entire life as Fulton Sheen, was born on May 8, 1895 in El Paso, Illinois and baptized in El Paso's St. Mary's Church. In 1913 he entered St. Viator College in Illinois, where he was a successful member of the debate team and consistently the top of his class. From his earliest years his family knew that Fulton would become a priest, so it was no surprise when he entered St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota after he graduated from St. Viator in 1917. There he first became schooled in Thomism and was ordained on September 20, 1919. He began studies for a Ph.D. at the University of Louvain, in Belgium, in 1921 and received his degree on July 13, 1923 with greatest distinction. At this time he was invited to work for a rare postdoctoral degree, the 'agrege,' by passing a public examination and publishing a distinguished book. For this degree he turned his doctoral dissertation into a book entitled, "God and Intelligence in Modern Philosophy: A Critical Study in the Light of the Philosophy of Saint Thomas Aquinas," and passed the public exam in 1925. He received the 'agrege' on July 16, 1925, the first American to receive this degree and which qualified him to teach at Louvain.

In April 1926 Sheen was appointed to the Chair of Apologetics in the School of Sacred Sciences at The Catholic University of America and taught there for a decade before he transferred to the School of Philosophy in 1935. During these early years at the university, Sheen began the work that would make him internationally famous throughout the twentieth century - public speaking and preaching. In 1928 he was already broadcasting his Lenten sermons on the radio, and by 1930 he was asked to be a guest speaker on the new 'Catholic Hour' radio broadcast that was sponsored by the National Council of Catholic Men in order to spread a better understanding of the Church, her doctrines, and to promote friendly relations between different religions. He became a regular speaker on the 'Catholic Hour' until 1952.

During this time there were several topics that keenly interested Sheen: the preservation of the Church through the fight against a liberal Christianity that would turn the focus of religion away from God and the preservation of American democracy through the fight against communism. He promoted these issues by continuing his busy, packed speaking schedule, publishing works for both a scholarly and common audience, and undertaking a program of evangelism towards anyone who expressed interest, from the famous such as the actress Loretta Young and the congresswoman Claire Boothe Luce, to hundreds of average people whose names are largely unknown.

Partly because of these qualifications, Sheen was named the national director of the Pontifical Mission Aid Societies in the United States and auxiliary bishop in New York at the behest of Cardinal Spellman, the archbishop of New York. With this appointment, Sheen resigned from the faculty of CUA. This mission was one of the largest sources of funds for the Vatican missions, and under Sheen's guidance as director donations from America drastically increased.

From his new home base in New York City, Sheen developed the program 'Life is Worth Living' with some local producers in 1952, and the DuMont Network eventually carried the show on national television. Americans were drawn to the charismatic bishop who appeared on screen in his full Episcopal regalia and his message of Christian hope. The program became the one of the most popular shows on television. Sheen challenged comedian Milton Berle for viewers and drove Frank Sinatra off the air. The show was so popular and the public's faith in him so high that Sheen routinely appeared on the AP's yearly list of most trusted people in America during the 1950s.

In his capacity as director of the Mission Aid Society, and probably also as a result of his well-regarded philosophical teachings and preaching, Sheen was named by Pope John XXIII to the Second Vatican Council's Commission on Missions shortly after the council began, the only American on that commission. Sheen was very supportive of the document on missions, especially regarding statements on the church and the poor and social justice. In an official statement at the council, Sheen called for cooperation between Catholics and Protestants regarding social justice, he spoke out against anti-Semitism, and supported the document on religious liberty.

Pope Paul VI named Sheen as the bishop of Rochester on October 26, 1966. This appointment was a surprise to many, as Sheen had limited administrative experience and no real parish experience. This appointment may have been the result of growing tension between Spellman and Sheen over how the Pontifical Mission funds were to be handled and as the natural result of two such commanding presences sharing the same space. Nevertheless, Sheen accepted his appointment gracefully and promised to implement the new Vatican II reforms immediately in his diocese. His time in Rochester, however, was marked by conflict. The laity of the diocese had very real needs, both spiritual and material, but Sheen's implementation of reform did not always address these needs. Sheen often did not consult with his priests on diocesan decisions and so the laity, as well as many of the priests, found themselves distanced from their bishop. In 1969, after less than three years as bishop, Pope Paul VI accepted Sheen's resignation from the diocese of Rochester.

Sheen returned to New York City where he lived for the rest of his life. He became the first bishop to speak out against the Vietnam War, and maintained support of the pope's controversial 'Humanae Vitae.' He continued to maintain close relationships with those he had befriended and helped to convert over the years, as well as keeping up with a busy writing and speaking schedule. By the end of his life, he had published sixty-six books and sixty-two booklets, pamphlets and printed radio talks. Sheen died on December 9, 1979 before the Blessed Sacrament and was buried in St. Patrick's Cathedral beneath the altar.

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Scope and Contents

The Fulton Sheen collection is divided into two series. The first series consists of philosophy notes taken while he was a student at the University of Louvain in the 1920s, several booklets by Sheen from the Catholic Hour radio series, a booklet by Sheen entitled "What Can I Do?" and translated into Braille, many published speeches, and some press clippings about Sheen that range from 1930 until 1985, six years after Sheen died.

The second series consists of Sheen's documents from the Commission on Missions, the Vatican II commission that developed the decree "Ad Gentes," (known by the working title "De Activitate Missionali Ecclesiae" throughout the council). There were five chapters to "De Activitate…" The first was concerned with doctrinal principles, the second was on missionary work, the third on missionaries themselves, the fourth on organization of missionary activity, and the fifth on cooperation between the missionaries and those they were ministering to. The materials in the series consist mainly of unpublished documents that reflect the development of this decree until its approval on December 7, 1965. There are many handwritten notes and annotations made by Bishop Sheen that reflect his thoughts and observations on this decree and his contribution to its development.

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Arrangement

The Fulton J. Sheen - Vatican II Council Collection consists of 2 series:

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

None.

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Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

The acquisition of series 1 seems to have occurred over many decades. The philosophy notes from Louvain were donated by Sheen to the CUA archives in 1946, while he was a professor at the University. The provenance of the remainder of series 1 is unclear, but most likely the remaining publications were donated by Sheen, and those regarding his death were collected by the archivist. Regarding series 2, shortly before the end of the Second Vatican Council in December 1965, the Board of Trustees of The Catholic University of America approved the proposal of Bishop Primeau and then-CUA archivist Reverend Dr. Trisco for the establishment of a collection that would contain the papers and other documents pertaining to Vatican II of American participants for the use of qualified students and scholars. Bishop Sheen sent his collection of notes to the CUA archives while he was still the bishop of Rochester.

Processing Information

Processing completed in 2010 by Mary Zito, with contributions by Joshua Sakolsky in 1996-1997. EAD markup completed in 2010 by Mary Zito.

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Related Material

The American Catholic History Research Center and University Archives also contains:

Luigi Ligutti - Vatican Council II Collection

James J. Norris - Vatican Council II Collection

Ernest J. Primeau - Vatican Council II Collection

For more information on the National Council of Catholic Men (NCCM), which sponsored the radio broadcast the "Catholic Hour," see:

NCWC Social Action Department

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Office of the General Secretary

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Index Terms

This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.

Persons:

Organizations:

Places:

Subjects:

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Bibliography

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Detailed Description of the Collection

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Descriptive Summary

Biographical Note

Scope and Contents

Arrangement

Restrictions

Administrative Information

Related Material

Index Terms

Bibliography

Detailed Description of the Collection

Series 1: Miscellaneous Files, 1920-1985, n.d.

Series 2: Vatican II Papers, 1960-65