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Sep 24, 2026 47 min

Fulton Sheen: The First Celebrity Bishop

from Jesuitical Hosted by America Media

This week on the “Jesuitical” podcast, Ashley McKinless and Zac Davis speak with Rachel Lu about the beatification of Fulton Sheen, the American archbishop who was famous for his media evangelism in the mid-20th century. Rachel is a senior editor at Law and Liberty and a regular contributor to the National Review and America Magazine. Together they discuss Sheen’s charisma, cultural influence, and his lesser known political philosophy which defended both the public role of religion and the separation of church and state. Chapters: Chapters: 00:00 Beatification of Fulton Sheen 01:23 When Fulton Sheen arrived on the scene 05:20 Sheen’s philosophical training 07:34 Fighting communism 11:22 What made Sheen’s TV show so popular? 13:51 What Sheen would think of America today? 26:09 The first celebrity bishop? 34:19 Introducing "Auguri!" 36:15 Faith sharing: Praying about using A.I. Links from the show: Fulton Sheen Bet on America. Some Catholics Want to Call It Off. Pope Leo calls Archbishop Fulton Sheen ‘a light of faith’ who touched millions with the Gospel Archbishop Fulton Sheen to be beatified Sept. 24 in St. Louis Sign up for our newsletter, Vatican Notebook! You can follow us on X and on Instagram @jesuiticalshow. You can find us on Facebook at facebook.com/groups/jesuitical. Support Jesuitical by becoming a digital subscriber to America magazine at americamagazine.org/subscribe

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