Famed preacher and evangelist gave a graduation speech at Detroit's all-boys Catholic school almost 90 years ago
NOVI — Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, regarded as one of the most innovative Catholic evangelists in U.S. history, will be one step closer to sainthood as he becomes the first U.S.-born bishop to be beatified.
Remembered for reaching millions of Americans through television and radio, Archbishop Sheen’s Sept. 24 beatification in St. Louis highlights his enduring legacy of proclaiming the Catholic faith through modern mass media. Known for his charm, humor, and ability to explain Catholic doctrine, Archbishop Sheen is regarded by many as a pioneer of religious communication in the United States and an inspiration for Catholics' ongoing work in mass media.
For Detroit Catholic Central High School in Novi, Archbishop Sheen’s beatification recalls a particularly fond memory: his commencement address at the all-boys school on June 18, 1937.
Then-Msgr. Sheen was already famous on the radio as the host of the NBC show "The Catholic Hour," which would eventually attract 4 million weekly listeners at its peak. When Detroit Catholic Central invited him to speak to the graduating class of 1937, the school had only been established by the Basilian Fathers nine years earlier. The school was then located at 60 Belmont Street, near where the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament now stands.
The graduation ceremony, as noted in the "History of the Educational Work of the Basilian Fathers in Detroit 1928-1946," was held at the Detroit Institute of Arts on Woodward Avenue. Also in attendance alongside Archbishop Sheen was Fr. Henry Carr, CSB, superior of the Basilian Fathers.
The graduating class that year comprised 60 seniors, according to the document, a master's thesis written by Fr. J. E. Burbott and Fr. Harold O'Leary at the University of Detroit. Of these male students, two entered the Basilian novitiate, and one of them later returned to serve on the school staff for two more years.
When the graduation ceremony with Archbishop Sheen took place in 1937, it also occurred in a year of significant changes for the newly elevated Archdiocese of Detroit. That year, Pope Pius XI elevated the then-Diocese of Detroit to an archdiocese and named Archbishop Edward A. Mooney (later a cardinal) as its first archbishop.
