Fifty years have passed since Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen returned to the Diocese of Rochester, which he’d shepherded from 1966-69, to dedicate the Sheen Archives.
This collection, which originally was housed at St. Bernard’s Seminary, contained copies of the dozens of books and articles written by Archbishop Sheen, who was beatified Sept. 24. The collection also included Archbishop Sheen’s manuscripts, research, correspondence and books from his personal library, as well as numerous recordings of his radio and television programs preserved in various formats.
Although Archbishop Sheen was a prolific author and orator, it is God who gave his works meaning and made them worthy of collection and preservation, the prelate asserted when he visited St. Bernard’s Seminary in the fall of 1976.
“There is no complete explanation of Fulton J. Sheen in these books, in these tapes. You have to look for a secret from the outside, where knowledge is converted into wisdom, and that is done only at the feet of Christ and his Blessed Sacrament,” Archbishop Sheen said during his address for the dedication of the Sheen Archives.
Sheen Archives contain books, diaries, recordings, memorabilia
The Sheen Archives remained at St. Bernard’s until the seminary closed in 1981 and then moved to Colgate Rochester Divinity School, which hosted the graduate-level educational programs of the newly formed St. Bernard’s Institute. In 1989, the Sheen Archives were moved to their current home within the larger archives in the Diocese of Rochester’s Pastoral Center, according to Sister of Mercy Connie Derby, diocesan director of archives and records.
The collection, which spans several large bookshelves, still contains the books from Archbishop Sheen’s expansive personal library as well as various editions of the more than 60 books he authored, many of which have been translated into various languages, Sister Derby said.
“We have manuscripts and typescripts of his, so these were either written by his own hand or they were typed by him or someone else. They’re all on various topics,” she said. “It’s kind of neat to have things written in his own hand. Of course, he has at the top of the pages (the letters) JMJ, which stands for Jesus, Mary and Joseph. He headed almost everything he wrote with those initials.”
Additional boxes are filled with photographs of Archbishop Sheen and such memorabilia as press clippings, tickets and programs from talks he gave and appearances he made, Sister Derby said. Larger boxes contain some of Archbishop Sheen’s vestments and miters — or ceremonial hats worn as part of liturgical dress by popes, bishops and abbots — as well as awards he received. One of his crosiers — or shepherd’s staffs — is in the archives, and another is frequently used by the Rochester Diocese’s current Bishop John S. Bonnici.
Archives depict shepherd’s legacy with the clarity that comes with time
The Sheen Archives may be accessed by authors conducting research on the archbishop and related topics, but the items are not displayed for public viewing the way they would be in a museum, Sister Derby said.
“A museum’s mission would be to present to the public the life and legacy of the person. We’re doing that in a way here, but a museum would have regular hours that it was open to the public, and we don’t have that,”she said.
Nevertheless, the items in the Sheen Archives and historical materials about each of the Diocese of Rochester’s bishops help today’s faithful to see the ways each of the men used their gifts to shepherd the diocese and contribute to the larger Catholic Church, Sister Derby said.
“I think the archives allow us to look back and see when we can’t always see (with clarity) what just happened five years ago or a year or two ago or over the weekend. The grace and the gifts sort of show themselves as time passes,” Sister Derby said.
Archbishop Sheen’s ‘Life Is Worth Living’ remains popular decades after his death
One of Archbishop Sheen’s gifts was his talent as a speaker, and that gift was obvious long before he came to the diocese in 1966, she said. He was particularly well-known for his “Life Is Worth Living” television program, which aired from 1952-57 and drew an estimated weekly audience of 30 million viewers.
Although the program ended before then-Bishop Sheen came to Rochester, prior to his death he granted the publication rights for the program to St. Bernard’s Seminary, which eventually evolved into St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry, noted Matthew Kuhner, the school’s vice president and academic dean.
“Those originals are in a vault in Los Angeles,” Kuhner said, noting that St. Bernard’s still receives revenue when “Life Is Worth Living” is aired on cable channel EWTN and other outlets.
St. Bernard’s has a licensing agreement with the Fulton J. Sheen Company Inc., which has made episodes of the program available on both DVD and on-demand streaming formats. The company also recently launched the Fulton Sheen TV mobile app, which features episodes of “Life Is Worth Living” as well as audio recordings and additional programming. Some of the content is available for free, and additional material may be accessed with a paid subscription.
Tags: Blessed Fulton J. Sheen
