For many Catholics, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen is remembered as the “TV bishop” whose wit and wisdom captivated millions. But Monsignor Roger Landry says Sheen’s greatest impact may have happened beyond the television screen.

Speaking on The Tim Glemkowski Show, Monsignor Landry reflected on Sheen’s upcoming beatification and the enormous legacy he left behind as a missionary leader, evangelizer, and defender of the Catholic Faith.

“He really took the Church in the United States and helped us to become by far the most generous mission in the world,” Monsignor Landry explained.

During his years leading the Pontifical Mission Societies, Sheen helped American Catholics fund churches, seminaries, convents, and dioceses across the globe. Monsignor Landry shared that one Nigerian seminary, now the largest in the world with more than 700 seminarians, was built largely through Sheen’s efforts and the generosity of American Catholics.

But Sheen’s influence wasn’t only financial. Monsignor Landry believes Sheen also transformed how Catholics were viewed in America. “If Sheen is what it means to be a Catholic, we’ve got nothing to be afraid of,” many non-Catholics began to say.

Today, seminarians around the world still read Sheen’s Life of Christ, and his books and recordings continue supporting missionary work through ongoing royalties.

“My greatest love has always been for the missions of the Church,” Sheen once said. For Monsignor Landry, Sheen’s beatification is a reminder that holiness and evangelization go hand in hand.

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