As 50,000 people arrive in St. Louis for Fulton Sheen's beatification, they'll have the chance to see a replica of his famous television studio.
Millions of Americans tuned in every week throughout the 1950s for Archbishop Sheen’s highly popular television show, Life Is Worth Living, on which the clear-spoken and energetic cleric would explain moral issues of the day.
As some 50,000 people from all over the world arrive in St. Louis on Thursday, September 24, for his historic beatification, event organizers came up with a daring idea: What if they could recreate his famous television set right there in the venue?
“Sister Jude Andrew, our program director, had this fantastic idea to create a replica Sheen set,” said Katie Prejean McGrady, host of The Catholic Channel on SiriusXM, in a video on her Instagram page. McGrady guided the “Sheen Show” program before the beatification Mass.
“So when people walk in tomorrow morning, they’ll see, of course, the grand stadium, but also feel like they’re in Sheen’s TV studio,” McGrady said.
Here’s Aleteia's quick tour of the replica set:
The organizers pulled it off, filling the replica studio with all kinds of fun details and clever nods to Sheen’s life, including the following:
- A model of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen’s desk with his famous red phone, a familiar sight during his television program
- A chalkboard just like the one Sheen always used, with his signature “JMJ” for “Jesus, Mary and Joseph” at the top. With his signature good humor, when the blackboard was filled, Sheen would move to another part of the set and request one of his “angels” (the TV crew) to clean it.
- A photo of the Sheen at his high school graduation
- An image of St. Therese of Lisieux, to whom Sheen had a great devotion
- A replica of his Emmy award
- Shelves filled with many of the 60 books he wrote
- A Knights of Columbus application, as Sheen was a Knight himself
- A large statue of Our Lady, to whom Sheen was deeply devoted, dedicating many of his books to her
While Life is Worth Living, running from 1952–1957, was his best known program, Sheen also hosted several other Catholic media shows throughout the 1930s-1960s. A very similar follow-up show, The Fulton Sheen Program, ran from 1961–1968, and before he began appearing on television, Sheen hosted the immensely popular radio program The Catholic Hour on NBC from 1930 to 1950.
As people enter The Dome at America's Center for the beatification Mass and surrounding events, they can look for the replica TV set and many other beautiful and thoughtful witnesses to the life and legacy of this extraordinary American bishop.
