Fulton J. Sheen and the Diocese of Hamilton: A Connection Remembered

/ bflhamiltondiocese

On September 24, 2026, the Catholic Church celebrated the beatification of Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. The Diocese of Hamilton is privileged to have a special connection to the renowned preacher and evangelist that reaches back nearly 90 years.

In 1938, Fr. Fulton Sheen (pre-episcopate) came to the Diocese of Hamilton as a Retreat Master for the diocesan priests. A photograph from that year captures him with the Diocesan priests and Bishop Joseph F. Ryan, D.D., who served as the sixth Bishop of Hamilton from 1937 to 1973.

At the time, Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen was already gaining recognition as a gifted preacher and teacher. His ministry would eventually reach millions through radio, television, writing and public speaking. He hosted The Catholic Hour on radio for two decades and later brought his Catholic teaching to a national television audience through programs including Life is Worth Living.

Yet the 1938 photograph offers a glimpse of another dimension of his ministry: his service to the Church through preaching and spiritual formation of priests.

Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen with Bishop Joseph F. Ryan during Sheen’s 1938 retreat for the priests of the Diocese of Hamilton.

The Diocese of Hamilton’s encounter with Sheen took place during the early years of Bishop Ryan’s episcopate. Bishop Ryan, a native of Dundas and a lifelong priest of the Diocese, had been appointed Bishop of Hamilton by Pope Pius XI in 1937.

Nearly nine decades later, Sheen’s legacy continues to be recognized by the Catholic Church. Pope Benedict XVI declared him Venerable in 2012, recognizing his heroic virtue. In 2019, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of a decree recognizing a miracle attributed to Sheen’s intercession, opening the way for his beatification.

The Mass of Beatification on Thursday, September 24, was held at the Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis. Following his beatification, he is now known as Blessed Fulton Sheen.

For the Diocese of Hamilton, the occasion also provides an opportunity to look back at a moment in its own history, when a future Archbishop and influential Catholic communicator came to Hamilton to preach and lead the priests of the Diocese in retreat.


Watch the Full Beatification Rite of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen | September 24, 2026