Joan Sheen Cunningham - My Uncle Fulton Sheen

MY UNCLE FULTON SHEEN

By Joan Sheen Cunningham

With Janel Rodriguez

IGNATIUS PRESS SAN FRANCISCO

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from Revised Standard Version of the BibleSecond Catholic Edition (Ignatius Edition) copyright 2006 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Portrait of Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, 1957
Yousuf Karsh

Cover design by Riz Boncan Marsella

2020 by Ignatius Press, San Francisco
All rights reserved
ISBN 978-1-58617-820-8 (PB)
ISBN 978-1-64229-110-0 (eBook)
Library of Congress Control Number 2015930772
Printed in the United States of America

Much of this book consists of the memories of Joan Sheen Cunningham from when she was a child and young adult, and therefore of when she didnt have a full understanding of what her uncle was achieving in the outside world and why he was famous. Therefore, between each chapter I have supplied some biographical and historical information to give the reader a fuller picture of just who Fulton Sheen was, why he may shortly be canonized a saint in the Catholic Church, and why Joan is so blessed to be able to call him her uncle.

Janel Rodriguez

Joan Sheen Cunninghams book, My Uncle Fulton Sheen , should be essential reading for anyone interested in the life and heroic Christian witness of Sheen. When I was a Holy Cross novice way back in 1966, I believe that his Life of Christ was the very first of his many wonderful books that I read. Like so many others growing up in the 1950s, however, I was first introduced to Bishop Sheen while watching with my family his Life Is Worth Living TV series. Im not sure how much I actually understood, but like many other Catholic kids at the time, I enjoyed his opening jokes; his dramatic style; the JMJ (Jesus, Mary, and Joseph) that he always scrolled at the top of his blackboard, just as we did on our school tests and papers; and I hoped to catch sight of his angel whom he claimed did his erasing.

In later years as a seminarian, then as a priest and bishop, and especially in these last eighteen years that I have had the privilege to serve as the petitioner of his cause for canonization and the head of the Fulton Sheen Foundation, I have been enormously blessed to read much more of his writing, listen to many of his tapes, and be well instructed by viewing copies of his television presentations.

He certainly should be numbered among the great minds of his generation, but I also believe that his truly extraordinary gift was to communicate profound truths in a way that was accessible to ordinary people. His clear teaching continues to be relevant and even prescient for today, but my own prejudice is that he can still be watched at the very top of his form as a communicator in his original black-and-white TV series.

Reading Joans fascinating account of her beloved uncles story gives a richly human context to the inspiring life of this good, gifted, and holy man. Please pray with me that Blessed Fulton Sheen may, in the language of our tradition, soon be raised to the altars of the Church.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Daniel R. Jenky, C.S.C.

Bishop of Peoria

Here are my memories of my uncle Fulton Sheen. I wish to thank Janel Rodriguez for patiently listening to my stories and for piecing it all together in a book that others can read.

Looking back on it all, I realize what was most important about the time I spent with Fulton Sheen. It was not the interesting places I visited or the fascinating people I met, but the lessons my uncle taught me about living. He taught me not by his preaching but by his example. He was always understanding, forgiving, and generous with othersand not just with material things. He encouraged me to act in the same way. He wanted me to give of myself (as he gave of himself in imitation of Christ), and he often reminded me that the simple gifts of a visit, a smile, and a kind word can do wonders. While I may not have always succeeded in living out all that he taught me, I still remember the lessons.

Another thing he taught me was to say, God is good, in every circumstance. I cant help but believe that God is goodespecially when I think of the blessing that my uncle was in my life.

I hope that in his goodness God wills that my uncle be named a saint in the Catholic Church. Please pray with me for the canonization of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen:

Heavenly Father, source of all holiness, you raise up within the Church in every age men and women who serve with heroic love and dedication. You have blessed your Church through the life and ministry of your faithful servant, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. He has written and spoken well of your Divine Son, Jesus Christ, and was a true instrument of the Holy Spirit in touching the hearts of countless people. If it be according to your will, for the honor and glory of the most Holy Trinity and for the salvation of souls, we ask you to move the Church to proclaim him a saint. We make this prayer through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen. (The Archbishop Fulton John Sheen Foundation, Peoria, IL)

God love you.

Joan Sheen Cunningham

The determining mold of my early life was the decision of my parents that each of their children should be well educated .

Fulton J. Sheen, Treasure in Clay

I was ten years old when my father took me asideaway from my brothers and sisterto ask me the question that would change the course of my life. But he first went about it slowly, beginning with a little talk about my uncle Fulton Sheen.

He wanted me to know just how special he thought my uncle was. But my father didnt have to convince me. I already believed my uncle was specialand not just because when he visited us he gave us children candy and gifts.

He was a priest. A man of such dignity and holiness that even his own brothermy fatherexpressed a deep respect for him. His respect ran so deep, in fact, that we children were instructed never to call him uncle but Father (and later by his other religious titles of Monsignor and Bishop). Nevertheless, I was still perfectly comfortable around my uncle because I also knew him to be a funand funnyperson. He had a ready sense of humor and the most infectious belly laugh.

I had gotten to know that side of him well because my family and I had recently spent some weeks with him enjoying the summer holidays together, and during the trip my uncle and I really hit it off. We just clickedperhaps because we shared similar personality traits. For instance, like him, I enjoyed traveling, meeting people, and learning new things. We seemed to understand each other.

The connection had not gone unnoticed by my father and my uncle, and they came up with a bold and brilliant idea. My father took me aside and explained that even though my uncle enjoyed children and family life, as a priest, he could never have children or a family of his own. He could, however, offer me the wonderful opportunity of a grand Catholic education in New York City.

If I agreed to attend a school there, he said, even though I would be far away from the rest of my family (who would remain in Illinois), I would be able to spend the weekends with my uncle, accompanying him to church, events, and dinners, and discovering the sights and sounds of the city with him. In that way, we both would be able to enjoy the bonds of family life. You could be like a daughter to him, my father said.

My uncle joined us to discuss the plan further. The school was run by the Society of the Holy Child Jesus, an international order of sisters founded in England in 1846. He had tremendous respect for them and the sort of education they could provide me. During the week, he explained, instead of boarding at the school, I would stay with longtime friends of his who had a girl my age. During holidays, vacations, and summers I would be home.