The Life, Thought, and Holiness of
Blessed Fulton J. Sheen Proclaiming Christ and the Wisdom of the Cross October 24th, 2026
On the 50th Anniversary of his Ordination to the Priesthood:
Reflection by Bl. Fulton J. Sheen while Bishop of Rochester
In that scroll and sequence of years, For what am I most thankful? First, when born, my mother, like Hannah, Laid me on the altar of the Blessed Mother And dedicated me to the service of her Son. This is my blessed assurance that the Lord will One day say: “I heard My Mother speak of you.” Second, that each morn at Holy Mass, I could hear drifting from a Cross: “Can you drink My Cup?” “Can you watch an hour?” Third, thanks, dear Lord, for suffering to see That not all the crosses are on hills. “Dragged like a plowshare through the heart, Only new furrows cause the grain to start.” Fourth, as bishop, I might, as head Feel the pain of every member of the Body. And as a weak cell of that Body, Sense unity with brother priests Who love that head whose name is Peter.
Fifth, my thanks for our Presbyterium, For my brothers of Bread and Cup Who have met with me in shared griefs and joys And daily restored the spiritual fortune of the diocese, As “God restored Job’s fortune because he prayed for his friends.” (Job. 42/10)... My work, please the Lord, is not finished. Much is still to be done, while there is light. Non recuso laborem. To close the generation gap, Each day I will say: “I will go to the altar of God, To God Who renews my youth.” The Lord did not begin to preach Wisdom and the Cross until He was over thirty. So I await His Promise to those planted in the House of God: “They will bear fruit in old age, Still remaining fresh and green.” (Ps. 92/14)
As I work under the aegis of two hearts One Sacred and the other Immaculate, I will sing with Hammarskjold: “The road, I shall follow it. The fun, I shall forget it. The cup, I shall empty it. The pain, I shall conceal it. The truth, I shall be told it. The end, I shall endure it.” – Blessed Fulton J. Sheen
Brief Conference Overview
SATURDAY, October 24TH 8:00am – 9:30pm 8:00 - 9:00am
Check-In/ Continental Breakfast
3:30 - 5:00pm
Keynote No. 1 Room B
9:00 - 10:30am
Session No. 1 Room B
5:00 - 5:30pm
Holy Mass
5:30 - 7:00pm
Dinner
7:00 - 8:30pm
Keynote No. 2 Room B
8:30 - 9:15pm
Reception
9:15 - 9:30pm
Compline in the Chapel
10:30 - 11:00am Break 11:00 - 12:30pm Session No. 2 Room B 12:30 - 1:30pm
Lunch
1:30 - 3:00pm
Session No. 3 Room B
3:00 - 3:30pm
Break
Conference Schedule
this academic and popular conference will reflect upon his total witness: his life, his thought, and his holiness. Presentations will be interdisciplinary in nature, ranging from theology to history, from spirituality to philosophy, and from biographical episodes to the current reception of his legacy. In celebration of Archbishop Sheen’s beatification,
SATURDAY, October 24TH 8:00 - 9:00am
Check-In/Continental Breakfast
9:00 - 10:30am
Session No. 1 Room B Fr. Patrick Flanagan, C.M. - "Still Worth Living: Fulton Sheen and the Future of Catholic Evangelization" Edmund Lazzari - “Five Points from Bl. Sheen’s Theology of the Cross” Machessa Samz - “Wasting Your Life: The Life of Charity vs. the Life of Sloth in Fulton Sheen and Thomas Aquinas”
10:30 - 11:00am Break 11:00 - 12:30pm Session No. 2 Room B Christopher Shannon - “Sheen in Context: Postwar America, Vatican II, and the Reorientation of Catholic Life” Matthew Kuhner - “Bl. Fulton J. Sheen as Shepherd of a Diocese: the Legacy of Rochester’s Sixth Bishop” Michael Heinlein - “A Quest for Glory: Fulton Sheen’s Pursuit of Virtue” 12:30 - 1:30pm
Lunch
1:30 - 3:00pm
Session No. 3 Room B Hunter Scholl - “I Shall Be Wise: Bl. Fulton J. Sheen as a Guide in the Internet Age” Luke Arredondo - “Blessed Fulton Sheen and the Risk of Celebrity Priests” Fr. Richard Malloy, S.J. - “Blessed Fulton Sheen: Prophet of Peace; Defender of Those Without Defense” Aditi Sengupta - “Healing Through Compassion: Fulton J. Sheen’s Theology of the Cross as a Framework for Global Healthcare Justice”
3:00 - 3:30pm
Break
3:30 - 5:00pm
Keynote No. 1 Cheryl C.D. Hughes - “With Jesus in the Tabernacle and Mary in His Heart: The Spirituality of Blessed Fulton J. Sheen”
5:00 - 5:30pm
Holy Mass
5:30 - 7:00pm
Dinner
7:00 - 8:30pm
Keynote No. 2 Msgr. Jason Gray - “Archbishop Sheen’s Ministry in Rochester: A Balanced Vision for Faith and Society”
8:30 - 9:15pm
Reception
9:15 - 9:30pm
Compline in the Chapel
Keynote Presenters
Monsignor Jason A. Gray, J.C.D.
Executive Director of the Archbishop Fulton Sheen Foundation
Msgr. Jason Gray was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Peoria in 1997. While studying at the North American College in Rome, he earned an S.T.L. in Biblical Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in 1998. He has been assigned to both parish work and chancery work after ordination. In 2004, he was sent to Catholic University to earn a J.C.L. in Canon Law, which he completed in 2006. In 2011, Msgr. Gray participated in the instruction of an alleged miraculous healing of a stillborn child through the intercession of Blessed Archbishop Fulton Sheen. In 2012, Msgr. Gray was invited to work for the Holy See in the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, where he also worked on a J.C.D. in Canon Law in 2015. Following the completion of this degree, Msgr. Gray returned to the Diocese of Peoria and became pastor of St. Thomas Parish, Peoria Heights. In 2023, he was named Executive Director of the Archbishop Fulton Sheen Foundation. When the permission was given in 2026 by Pope Leo XIV to proceed with the Beatification, Msgr. Gray assumed a leadership role in planning the ceremony to take place in St. Louis on September 24, 2026. He was also assigned as Pastor of Sacred Heart Parish and Rector of the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, where the mortal remains of the Blessed Fulton Sheen are interred. Cheryl C.D. Hughes, Ph.D.
Scholar and Author of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen: Convert Maker and other works
Dr. Hughes taught History, Humanities, and Religious Studies for over thirty years. Her doctorate is in Historical Theology from Durham University in England. She is an award-winning author of biographies. Her books include Katharine Drexel: The Riches to Rags Story of an American Catholic Saint; Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen: Convert Maker; and Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen: God’s Great Communicator. She is the editor of Crossing Boundaries/Confounding: Chinese Women in Literature, Art, and Film. Cheryl lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She has three grown children and five grandchildren.
Acknowledgements
Conference Committee
Matthew Kuhner Maria Mruzek Bernadette Bobrowski Thank You
Rev. Peter Van Lieshout and Sacred Heart Cathedral Msgr. Jason Gray and the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation Dr. Edmund Lazzari Sr. Connie Derby and the Diocese of Rochester Archives The Fulton J. Sheen Company, Inc.
The Last Will & Testament of Bl. Fulton J. Sheen bequeathed all library manuscripts, files, kinescopes, and video tapes to St. Bernard's Seminary, now known as St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry. With the intent of preserving Sheen’s message, William G. McDonnell, Sr., licensed the rights of all 250 episodes produced and was able to salvage and digitally remaster 130 episodes to allow access to Sheen’s timeless wisdom. Carrying on McDonnell’s hopes, in addition to offering programs on DVD, the Fulton J. Sheen Company, Inc., now offers streaming and video-on-demand options to have Bl. Archbishop Sheen’s message live on.
The Fulton J. Sheen Company, Inc.
Host Institution St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry is the successor institution to St. Bernard’s Seminary, to which Bl. Archbishop Sheen was ardently devoted during his time as Bishop of Rochester from 1966-1969. Archbishop Sheen bequeathed his personal library to the Seminary, as well as the rights to his famous television series, A Life is Worth Living; the School retains these treasures to this day. Most importantly, the School carries on the vision of Sheen’s leadership, especially in its service of lay men and women, the utilization of communication technology, and its formation of men preparing for the permanent diaconate. To this day, St. Bernard's continues to pursue a course of dedication and service to Christ and His Church. The School’s mission is to nurture the entirety of the human person through attention to the pastoral, intellectual, spiritual, and human dimensions of formation with the hope that we may, in a definite and dedicated way, assist our students to understand the things of our Faith and to incarnate them in their day-today service to God's people and the world as a whole.