Fulton J. Sheen

Fulton J. Sheen (1895 – 1979) Suppose one studies the history of the glory years of television in the 1950s. In that case, some of the medium's most important and influential personalities are, without a doubt, Lucille Ball, Milton Berle, and Bishop Fulton Sheen. Fulton Sheen was born to a family of Irish farmers in El Paso, Illinois, but he found his vocation in the priesthood and was ordained in 1919. He proved to be a brilliant philosophy student and studied abroad and, in the U.S., his skill as a preacher, combining solid theology with a memorable Irish wit, soon propelled him to the forefront of apologetics. In 1952, his classic and wildly popular television series Life is Worth Living began appearing weekly. Sheen was a popular preacher, lecturer, and happy warrior of the faith who used humor and common sense to enlighten people about the truths of Catholicism. In 1966 he was ordained bishop of Rochester, New York, and continued his work of evangelization until he died in 1979. T