In the last issue of Mission Magazine, in this series on the life, ministry, and legacy of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, we looked at Sheen’s time teaching at the Catholic University of America, his rise to national prominence as a popular speaker and retreat master, and the beginning of his ministry utilizing both the then newly emerging mediums of radio and television to preach the Gospel. In this next installment, we turn our attention to his nomination in 1950 as National Director of the “Pontifical Mission Aid Societies” (as the Pontifical Mission Societies was then called), and the incredible energy and creativity he brought to his new position in fostering a missionary spirit among his fellow American Catholics, while also raising huge sums of money in support of missionary activity in emerging local churches around the globe.
In September 1950, Pietro Cardinal Fumasoni-Biondi, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, announced that he had accepted the resignation of Auxiliary Bishop Thomas J. McDonnell as National Director of the Pontifical Mission Aid Societies after fourteen years of service, as well as the nomination of Msgr. Sheen to this role. Francis Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop of New York, played a significant role in securing Sheen’s nomination, thanks to his long friendship with Pope Pius XII and his position as chairman of the Societies’ Board of Directors. Upon taking up these new responsibilities on November 1 of that year, Sheen said he would dedicate himself entirely to his new duties. As a result, he gave up teaching and all outside speaking engagements not directly related to his role in promoting the missions. However, he would continue his radio broadcast on the Catholic Hour.
In his formal statement to the press at the time of his appointment, Sheen said that while he might be leaving the classroom, in truth, he would still be engaged in teaching—for the foreign missions are founded on the Great Command “to go forth and teach all nations.” Sheen also reflected that his appointment came at a perilous moment in history, when Communism—a missionary movement in its own right—was advancing against Christ’s forces. At the same time, the Church struggled to preach the Gospel in places where she was increasingly unwelcome or actively persecuted.
Upon taking up his new role, Sheen moved to New York City, where the National Office had been located since the early twentieth century, after first being in Baltimore. (At this time, most American Catholics knew the organization as the “Society for the Propagation of the Faith.”) When Sheen arrived, the National Office was in an old brownstone at 109 East 38th Street. The building included offices, a chapel, and an apartment on the fourth floor where Sheen lived. In these relatively cramped quarters, thirty employees came to work each day. Eventually, Sheen secured a larger and more modern space for the offices at 366 Fifth Avenue, where they remained until the turn of this century.
Despite the extensive travel demands of his new role, Sheen worked hard to form and support his staff. Whenever he was not on the road, he would lead them in daily prayer and the Rosary while also giving personal time and attention to
each of them. In addition, he typically had two priest assistants who helped manage these and other responsibilities in his absence.
Since fundraising was—and is—a central responsibility of the National Director, Sheen expended immense time and energy toward this effort, using almost every speaking opportunity—in person, on the radio, or on television—to advocate for the missions and make direct appeals for financial support. Before long, donations to the Society soared, and soon the Church in the United States was contributing almost two-thirds of all funds raised worldwide for missionary activity. At the height of his fundraising efforts, more than 10,000 letters (many containing donations of various amounts—even a coin or two from children) would arrive at the National Office daily, including, at times, from a large number of non-Catholics.
In a 1952 conversation with a reporter, Sheen said, “Last year our missionaries cared for over fifty-four million young, aged, sick, orphans, and victims of leprosy—and only ten percent of these people were Christian. We tended more souls than the Red Cross and worked without what might be called overhead.” In his own writing, Sheen often stressed the practical good missionaries did around the world as a way to thank all for their generous support of the Propagation of the Faith.
As part of his overall renewal of the National Office and its outreach to Catholics around the nation, Sheen redesigned the Society’s magazine, renaming it Mission, while also adding photographs and making the articles more engaging and visually appealing. When Sheen arrived, the magazine was actually losing money, but thanks to these changes, it soon generated a profit of over $200,000 in donations from its readers. As part of the innovations Sheen brought to the National Office, he also initiated the World Mission Rosary—with different-colored beads for each of the five continents—and by 1953, more than 250,000 had been mailed to friends and supporters of the Society. Finally, he also started a new journal, Worldmission. Different in focus from Mission Magazine, the new journal published longer articles and book reviews, often by American missionaries, as well as editorials written by Sheen.
In recognition of his important role in supporting the missions on a national level, on May 22, 1951, it was announced that Msgr. Sheen would be appointed an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of New York, with the titular see of Caesariana. His consecration took place shortly after, on June 11, at the Basilica of Sts. John and Paul in Rome, which was Cardinal Spellman’s titular church. He was consecrated by Adeodato Giovanni Cardinal Piazza, in front of a congregation of close to 400 people, including the U.S. ambassador to Italy, James G. Dunn. (At this time, the United States did not have formal diplomatic relations with the Holy See.) The only family member present was his nephew, Fulton Sheen II, who was a seminarian studying at Louvain in Belgium.
Immediately after the Mass of consecration, Pope Pius XII received the now-Bishop Sheen, his nephew, and a few close friends in a private audience. In addition to giving Sheen a pectoral cross, the Pope invited him to stay in Rome for a few weeks for some rest. While first thanking the Holy Father for his thoughtfulness and generosity, Sheen said that he would rather return to the United States and get back to work. However, he first made a visit to Lourdes (his twenty-third) to give thanks to the Blessed Mother and to ask, again, for her guidance and protection. After that, he flew back to New York and was back at his desk exactly one week after his consecration—to take up again his nineteen-hour day in service of the Lord, in support of the missions.
