Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen was officially beatified on September 24 during a impressive celebration in St. Louis, Missouri, the United States, presided over by Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle.
As a priest and social media content creator, I find in Blessed Fulton Sheen a powerful example of how to bring the Gospel to people through the communication tools of one’s time. He preached before the Internet existed, but his work on radio and television anticipated something central to online ministry today: meeting people where they are and using media to lead them, not to oneself, but to Christ.
I find in Blessed Fulton Sheen a powerful example of how to bring the Gospel to people through the communication tools of one’s time
Blessed Sheen’s broadcasts brought Catholic preaching into homes across the country and reached millions. Pope Leo XIV has described him as “a light of faith, hope, and love”1 through radio and television, whose broadcasts touched millions with the hope of the Gospel. His example reminds me that digital preaching is not simply about adapting a sermon to a screen. It is about carrying the Church’s mission into the places where people are already listening, watching, searching, and hoping.
Blessed Sheen understood that communication could serve a deeper purpose than attracting an audience. In the introduction to The Fullness of Christ2, he reflected that his broadcasts would have been worthwhile if even one listener had been drawn to Christ. That is a freeing measure of success for anyone creating Catholic content today. Views and followers may show that a message has travelled far, but they cannot tell us whether it has helped someone encounter the Lord.
For me, this is one of his most important lessons: the medium is a means, not the mission. Social media can open doors to dialogue, offer a word of hope, and help someone take a first step toward the Church. But online activity cannot replace the life of faith itself. Pope Benedict XVI3 encouraged priests to use new media for evangelisation while reminding them that the fruitfulness of ministry comes from Christ, encountered in prayer, proclaimed in preaching, lived in witness, and celebrated in the sacraments.
Blessed Sheen also inspires me to think carefully about the person on the other side of the screen. A post is not just content delivered to an audience; it reaches real people, each with their own questions, wounds, responsibilities, and hopes. The Church’s reflection on social media urges Christian communicators to let their manner of communication reflect “closeness, compassion, and tenderness”4. That means speaking truthfully without contempt, making difficult teachings understandable without diluting them, and remembering that a brief exchange online may be part of someone’s much longer journey toward God.
His example does not ask priests today to imitate his style or reproduce the past. The platforms have changed, and so have the habits of communication. What endures is the missionary purpose: to make Christ known with clarity, conviction, and love. Blessed Sheen is an example for the Church’s missionary work.
Social media can open doors to dialogue, offer a word of hope, and help someone take a first step toward the Church. But online activity cannot replace the life of faith itself
As I create and share content, I want to remember that influence is a responsibility. The Church’s guidance notes that every Christian has some influence, however small, and that a Christian communicator should point people not toward personal prominence but toward the Kingdom of God. It also warns that greater visibility brings greater responsibility to serve the community rather than promote personal opinions5.
Blessed Fulton Sheen encourages me, then, to use today’s media with imagination and humility. The goal is not simply to be seen or heard. It is to help someone hear the Gospel, recognize Christ’s love, and take a step toward him. If even one person is drawn closer to Christ, that is a work worth doing.
Rev. Dominique Mukonda, CICM
1 Speech to the participants in the “General Assembly of the Pontifical Mission Societies”, 1 June 2026.
2 Sheen, F. J. (1934). The Fullness of Christ. The Catholic Hour, 1934-1935, p.1
3 Pope Benedict XVI. (2010). Message, 44th World Communications Day, 2010 – The Priest and Pastoral Ministry in a Digital World: New Media at the Service of the Word. Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
4 Communication, D. F. (2023). Towards Full Presence: A Pastoral Reflection on Engagement with Social Media. Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 64.
5 Idem, 74
