Cleveland First Friday Club hosted program on Venerable Fulton Sheen as beatification neared

Thousands of people are expected to attend or watch the beatification Mass for the Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen on Sept. 24.

As preparations continued for his beatification, the First Friday Club of Cleveland hosted a recent presentation featuring Father Dave Tomaszycki, a priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit, Michigan, who in 2024 compiled, edited and published “On the Demonic,” a posthumous book in the late archbishop’s own words, featuring his writings.

A native of Peoria, Illinois, Venerable Sheen was born in 1879 and ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Peoria in 1919. He was a renowned theologian and was named auxiliary bishop of New York in 1951, serving there until his appointment as bishop Rochester, New York in 1966. He was in that position until retiring at age 75 in 1969, when he became archbishop of the titular see of Newport, a diocese in Wales. The archbishop died on Dec. 9, 1979, at age 84.

He was a prolific writer and in 1930 began a long career as a well-known broadcaster/evangelist, hosting popular radio and television programs. In 1953, he won an Emmy Award as the most outstanding television personality. He also was featured on the cover of Time magazine. His cause for canonization was opened in 2002.

 While studying at Ave Maria University and discerning the priesthood, Father Tomaszycki said he became a fan of Venerable Sheen. After his priestly ordination in 2016, he served in several parishes in the archdiocese and was secretary to Detroit Archbishop emeritus Allen Vigneron. He is pastor of St. Peter Parish in Mount Clemens, Michigan.

A decade ago, while reading “Those Mysterious Priests,” one of the late archbishop’s books that included mentions of the demonic, the young priest learned that apparently, he had intended to write a book about the times in which he lived dealing with the devil’s influence and how it manifested in political turmoil, social unrest and more. However, Father Tomaszycki could find no evidence of the book. That started a process during which he studied the late bishop and his archives, traveling to where Venerable Sheen had lived, worked and ministered. The nearly five-year project resulted in “On the Demonic,” the book featuring the late bishop’s own words.

“I compiled his (Sheen’s) words, mainly from a serious of talks he had given in the 1960s and ‘70s and some newspaper articles he had written,” Father Tomaszycki said.

He noted Venerable Sheen offered signs of the demonic, noting these things “take God’s gifts and distort or reorient then to oneself rather than to God … But there is a cure: Jesus.”

Learn more about the book here.

Venerable Sheen’s Mass of beatification is set for 2:30 p.m. at the Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The liturgy was moved there to accommodate the expected large crowd. Two liturgies of thanksgiving are planned for noon Sept. 25 and 4 p.m. Sept. 26 in Peoria. Click here for more information on the liturgies and to access the feed from EWTN.