Cardinal Tagle Calls Fulton Sheen ‘Porter to the House of God’ at Beatification Homily

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle described Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen as a “porter to the house of God” who saw himself not as the owner of the people he evangelized but as a humble servant entrusted with leading them to Christ.

The cardinal made the observation during the beatification Mass for the American archbishop on September 24 at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri, where he served as papal delegate for Pope Leo XIV. More than 50,000 people attended the celebration, which formally declared Sheen Blessed.

Reflecting on Sheen’s life as an evangelizer and missionary shepherd, Cardinal Tagle identified two dimensions of his ministry: communion with Christ and communion with people, especially those who were poor and vulnerable.

The first, he said, was the foundation of Sheen’s missionary life.

Cardinal Tagle recalled an exchange between Sheen and Pope Pius XII about the number of people the archbishop had converted. Sheen reportedly said he had never counted them because doing so might lead him to think that the conversions belonged to him.

Instead, Sheen compared himself to a porter at the entrance of a house.

“A porter opens the door and ushers you into the house,” Cardinal Tagle said, explaining the image. “He does not claim the house as his own.”

For Sheen, the house was the Church and ultimately the house of God, while his role was to help people encounter the One who welcomed them.

Sheen became one of the best-known Catholic communicators of the 20th century. Beginning with his radio program The Catholic Hour in 1930 and later through his television program Life Is Worth Living, he used modern media to reach millions of people. Pope Leo XIV has highlighted this aspect of Sheen’s ministry, describing him as a tireless preacher of the Gospel through modern means of communication.

But Cardinal Tagle’s homily placed Sheen’s public influence within a deeper understanding of Christian mission. His effectiveness as a communicator did not begin with the microphone, the camera or the size of his audience. It began with his relationship with Christ.

The cardinal recalled Sheen’s own words about his vocation: “I was called to tell this story, the Gospel. I never tire of telling it. I never tire of improving my telling of it. I love my calling.”

For Cardinal Tagle, this showed that Sheen understood evangelization first as a response to a call. The evangelizer does not own the Gospel or the people who hear it. The evangelizer receives the Gospel, remains close to Christ and helps others enter into that relationship.

This distinction has particular relevance for Catholic communicators across Asia, where radio, television, social media and digital platforms have become important spaces for sharing the Gospel with increasingly diverse audiences.

Sheen’s example, as presented by Cardinal Tagle, suggests that Christian communication cannot be reduced to reaching more people or producing greater visibility. Its purpose is to open a door toward Christ.

The beatification itself marked a significant moment in the recognition of Sheen’s life and ministry. The Diocese of Peoria opened his cause for beatification in 2002. Pope Benedict XVI declared him Venerable in 2012, and Pope Francis approved a miracle attributed to his intercession in 2019.

Born in Illinois in 1895 and ordained a priest in 1919, Sheen served as a teacher, preacher, author, broadcaster and bishop. He was named Bishop of Rochester in 1951 and later became titular Archbishop of Newport, Wales. He died in 1979 at age 84.