Archbishop Sheen Biography Inspires, Informs

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen: Convert Maker gives Leigh Ann Roman insight on the life of the influential priest, author, and speaker.

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen: Convert Maker

By Cheryl C.D. Hughes

Publisher: Ignatius Press

Cheryl C.D. Hughes paints a compelling picture of a man driven to share God’s love with every person he met as a means of their salvation in Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen: Convert Maker, published by Ignatius Press. 

This wonderful priest’s extremely productive life is on full display in the book, which I highly recommend. The biography focuses on eight famous people whom he influenced to become Catholic. But it is really the story of Archbishop Sheen’s deep love for Christ and how that informed every waking hour of a life that produced 56 books, a successful 20-year run on the radio with The Catholic Hour, the award-winning television show, Life is Worth Living, and countless converts, according to his biography on The Catholic University of America website. 

Archbishop Sheen taught at Catholic University for 23 years before serving as national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith for 16 years. But conversion was his passion. From a drunk stage actress on the steps of a London church to movie star Virginia Mayo, every single person mattered to Archbishop Sheen.  

Communists among the Converts 

The book will especially appeal to people interested in the America of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Archbishop Sheen did public battle with Communism at a time when it was rising in popularity in the United States. Several of the famous converts highlighted in the book were Communists, including Communist organizer Bella Dodd, journalist and Communist organizer Louis Budenz, and Communist agent and spy Elizabeth Bentley. 

The most famous of the converts profiled is Clare Boothe Luce, playwright, poet, and diplomat, who was the wife of Henry R. Luce, publisher of Time and Life magazines. Entertainer and saloonkeeper Ada “Bricktop” Smith, and violinist and composer Fritz Kriesler are also covered. Because of the timeframe and personalities highlighted, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen: Convert Maker will likely appeal most to people who love history and philosophy. 

Intellect in Service to Faith 

It is important to understand, too, that Archbishop Sheen was an absolutely brilliant man who placed all of his talents at the service of his Lord. When he earned his doctorate with great distinction in 1923 from Louvain University in Belgium, he became one of just 10 students in the preceding 40 years asked to continue work on a post-graduate degree called an agrege. When he was awarded that degree in 1925, his dissertation was immediately published as a book, God and Intelligence in Modern Philosophy, with the introduction written by G.K. Chesterton.  

The most humbling aspect of the book is the description of Archbishop Sheen’s complete commitment to sharing the faith and the sheer grit he put into it, working 19 hours out of every day, answering sometimes 100 letters per day, and keeping a daily holy hour. 

The diversity among his most famous converts is a testament to the breadth of Archbishop Sheen’s appeal. In the biography, the archbishop says he never kept a record of converts “lest I fall into the error of thinking I made them. The Good Lord would never let me have another.” 

Even during hospitalizations, he reached out to fellow patients, making converts from what he called “the horizontal apostolate” flat on his back. As Cheryl C.D. Hughes says in the biography: “He believed that every person was a soul loved by God and that God had somehow chosen him to bring those thirsting souls home to the Catholic Church.” 

Reading this book made me ask myself how I am using my gifts to share God’s love. Archbishop Sheen’s keen intellect and national platform made him an extremely effective evangelist and apologist for the faith. But we all have gifts. This book demonstrates the importance of placing our gifts in the service of God.  

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Copyright 2025 Leigh Ann Roman
Images: (top) detail from cover