The Man Who Wrote on the Angel’s Blackboard

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BY Father Andrew Apostoli Father Andrew Apostoli, a Franciscan Friar of the Renewal, was ordained by Archbishop Fulton Sheen. Now he hopes to have him declared a saint. Father Apostoli is the vice postulator for the canonization cause for Archbishop Sheen, who wowed millions of television viewers with his preaching in the 1950s. The Diocese of Peoria, Ill., Sept. 29 officially opened the tribunal that will research Archbishop Sheen's life and virtues. Father Apostoli, himself well known to television audiences through EWTN, spoke with Register staff writer Tim Drake as the 24th anniversary of the archbishop's death approached Dec. 9. You have a personal connection with Archbishop Sheen, don't you? Yes. He had been appointed to the Diocese of Rochester, N.Y., in October 1966 and arrived in December. At the time, the Capuchins had a seminary in Geneva, N.Y. I had met Archbishop Sheen when he had made a visit to Geneva just before Christmas. I had asked my superiors if Archbishop Sheen could ordain me. Archbishop Sheen's secretary had told my director that everyone wanted to be ordained by Archbishop Sheen. He said since I was to be ordained alone and desired an ordination earlier in the year it was unlikely Archbishop Sheen would ordain me. For two days I was in a deep depression. My director came to me with a letter con-taining eight stamps and told me, “Go and mail this letter.” It was addressed to the archbishop and was marked “personal and confidential.” I ended up being ordained by Archbishop Sheen on March 16, 1967. Archbishop Sheen had a great love of the priesthood. He said in my ordination homily that if there is any key to the reform of the Church and the salvation of the world it lies in the renewal of the priesthood. He was a spiritual father to me. “There is a great joy when bishops have sons in Christ,” he said. At the end of his homily he said, “The emotional thrill of your first Mass will fade, but the joy of being a priest grows.” That's been very true. I later met him on a priest retreat in upstate New York. More than 250 priests from seven states came to attend a day of recollection. I also saw him give a talk to more than 2,000 cadets at Eisenhower Hall at West Point. When was his cause officially opened? It was opened Sept. 14, 2002. The Archbishop Fulton John Sheen Foundation in Peoria is the promoter of the cause, and Diocese of Peoria Bishop Daniel Jenky is the sponsor. How did you get involved in his cause? Gregory Ladd of Indiana and Lawrence Hickey of New York started the Archbishop Fulton John Sheen Foundation in 1998. Their intent was to keep alive the archbishop's ideas and promote knowledge of his teachings. The foundation is now promoting the canonization process with the cooperation of Bishop Jenky. I was asked by a few members of the board to consider becoming the postulator [Father Apostoli has since become vice postulator, and Andrea Ambrosi of Rome has been appointed postulator, the Church official who pleads for a person's beatification or canonization]. Although my schedule is very busy already, I believe very strongly in the canonization. With proper help from secretaries, I see my job as one to inspire and keep the process moving. It is my responsibility to help the cause move along, to make the person better known, raise the necessary funds and contact the potential witnesses. What took place on Sept. 29? We held the opening of the diocesan tribunal of inquiry and a prayer service at the Church of St. Peter in Peoria. Members of the tribunal took an oath vowing to faithfully report on the life and works of Fulton Sheen. Do you have a sense of what the cause will cost? We are appealing to people in general and looking for donors. The more we are able to raise, [the more] it will expedite our work. We have to hire people to type the testimonies and notarize them. There are also costs for the transportation of witnesses, and you have to pay people to translate the testimonies into Italian. The theological commission will need to review all of Fulton Sheen's writings. Do they also need to listen to his tapes and watch all of his television programs? I do not know, but I know Archbishop Sheen was a teacher. It's been said that if you want to be a saint, don't write too much. We're going to have our hands full. Archbishop Sheen appeared on television and radio and wrote in some 62 periodicals. He wrote 66 books and had columns in two newspapers, one that ran for 15 years. One thing I can say for sure is that the Holy Father is quite aware of Archbishop Sheen's cause being opened. At the time his cause opened, the Pope gave a copy of the decree to a priest who knew Archbishop Sheen well. For the Pope to have that in his hands means the cause is something on his mind and something he is well aware of. Do you foresee any weaknesses? Archbishop Sheen was a great teacher but not a great administrator. In his zeal, I think he may have tried to do too much. He found himself the bishop of a diocese at the age of 72 and had had no experience running a diocese. How long could the process take? Someone on our foundation was inquiring about another canonization. This was for someone who wasn't yet venerable [the title given to one who has been judged to have lived the cardinal and theological virtues to a heroic degree]. The testimonies for that person were gathered during the Vietnam War. A lot of it depends upon the message of the person and their popularity. There is nothing as powerful as the saint whose time has come. We can look at the Church here in America and see that Archbishop Sheen was a moral leader, a great example for our priests and bishops— a voice for our times. We need a voice that's right when everyone else is wrong. One has to keep in mind the extensive effect of Archbishop Sheen's life. He was known worldwide and known by many people in this nation—Catholic, Jewish and Protestant. His canonization is something for our time.… We need someone like him. He is a wealth of information and insight and would be such a great example. Priests and lay people are listening to his tapes all over the world. What is the next step? One hundred twenty-six names have been submitted as potential witnesses. We will begin and continue to gather testimonies, and will make the life of Archbishop Sheen better known by disseminating his writings. Members of the tribunal will research Fulton Sheen's life and virtues and formulate apositio, which contains the testimony of virtues. Tim Drake is the editor of the book Saints of the Jubilee (1stBooks, 2002). http://www.ncregister.com/info/email-a-friend/the_man_who_made_steubenville_is_stepping_aside_after_15_years