Bishop Robert Barron is urging Catholic communicators to follow the example of Archbishop Fulton Sheen, deep prayer, serious study, and years of preparation, as the Church prepares to beatify the legendary broadcaster in St. Louis this September.

Barron, the bishop of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, sat down with anchor Catherine Hadro on "EWTN News In Depth" on July 17 to discuss what made Sheen one of the most effective evangelists America has ever produced. The interview comes just over two months before Sheen's beatification, scheduled for Sept. 24 in St. Louis, an event expected to draw thousands of bishops, priests, religious, seminarians, and lay faithful from across the United States and around the world.

Barron did not hold back about Sheen's stature. He called him "the greatest preacher in the history of our country", and offered a pointed warning to a generation of online Catholic voices who skip the hard work Sheen put in before he ever stepped in front of a camera.

Barron's five marks of Sheen's greatness start with prayer, not a platform

In the EWTN interview, Barron identified five characteristics that defined Sheen's life and ministry: daily prayer, serious intellectual formation, Christ-centered preaching, personal humility, and joyful evangelization. The list reads less like a tribute and more like a rebuke of the way much of Catholic media operates today, heavy on personality, light on substance.

Barron stressed that Sheen did not stumble into a microphone. He spent years in formation first, seminary, graduate studies at The Catholic University of America, and an advanced doctorate at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. Only then did he begin his public ministry.

"He begins his evangelical work only after a long apprenticeship as a teacher, as a writer, as a student."

That apprenticeship, Barron said, included lifelong engagement with sacred Scripture and the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine, G.K. Chesterton, and St. John Henry Newman. Sheen built his message on a foundation most modern commentators never bother to lay.

The bishop, himself an Illinois native and a graduate of The Catholic University of America, like Sheen, was direct about the gap between Sheen's preparation and the habits of many who now claim the mantle of Catholic spokesman. In an era when the Vatican itself is sparring publicly with the White House over the proper role of religious voices in public life, the question of who speaks for the Church and how well they do it carries real weight.

Barron told Hadro:

"A lot of people just put a shingle on and say, 'I'm a Catholic spokesman.'"

He added bluntly: "I think Sheen would be bothered by that."

'Read and read and read before you dream of getting in front of the microphone'

Barron's advice to aspiring Catholic communicators was specific and old-fashioned. He did not point them toward social media strategy or audience analytics. He pointed them toward books.

"I want you to use the old medium of books. Read and read and read before you dream of getting in front of the microphone."

That counsel cuts against the grain of a Catholic media landscape increasingly populated by influencers, podcasters, and commentators who build audiences on hot takes rather than theological depth. Barron did not name names. He did not need to. The contrast between Sheen's years of quiet study and the instant-pundit culture of 2026 speaks for itself.

When Hadro raised the frequent comparison between Barron himself, widely known for his own use of media in evangelization, and Sheen, Barron dismissed it flatly.

"It embarrasses me because I'm much unworthy of a comparison."

The humility was notable. Barron is arguably the most prominent Catholic media figure in America today, yet he treated the comparison as something to deflect, not accept. That posture itself mirrors the personal humility he listed as one of Sheen's defining traits.

Sheen's beatification caps years of Church investigation, and controversy

The Sept. 24 beatification follows years of investigation by the Catholic Church into Sheen's life of heroic virtue. The Vatican approved a miracle attributed to Sheen's intercession, clearing the final canonical hurdle. The specific miracle was not detailed in the interview or the accompanying report, and the exact timeline of the investigation, when it opened, when it concluded, and what delays it encountered, remains publicly unclear.

Peter Howard, founder and president of the Fulton Sheen Institute and the Fulton Sheen Movement, offered a hint at the rocky road the cause traveled. His organization will host a conference titled "America's Saint: The Catholic Hour is Now" on Sept. 23 in St. Louis, the day before the beatification.

Howard said the gathering would "rally the voices of American Catholics who championed Sheen when his cause was buried." That phrase, "when his cause was buried", suggests a period when the beatification effort stalled or faced institutional resistance, though Howard did not elaborate on specifics.

He framed Sheen's message as urgently relevant to the present moment. The Catholic Church in America is navigating sharp internal debates over identity, authority, and public engagement. Traditionalist Catholics in France recently chose fidelity to Rome over rebellion in the wake of the SSPX schism, and questions about what faithful Catholic witness looks like in public life continue to generate friction on both sides of the Atlantic.

Howard put it this way:

"At a time marked by confusion, fragmentation, and a crisis of identity, Sheen's message cuts through the noise with conviction and clarity."

Why Sheen still matters, and what his example demands

Fulton Sheen became one of America's best-known Catholic communicators by mastering every medium available to him, preaching, writing, radio, and television. He did not treat media as an end in itself. He treated it as a delivery system for a message he had spent decades preparing to give. That sequence matters. The formation came first. The platform came second.

Barron's five marks, prayer, study, Christ-centered preaching, humility, and joy, are not abstract ideals. They describe a specific discipline that Sheen practiced and that Barron believes most of today's Catholic voices have skipped. The bishop did not frame this as a gentle suggestion. He framed it as a standard that the soon-to-be-beatified Sheen himself would insist on.

The beatification will draw a massive gathering to St. Louis. The conference the day before will feature scholars, clergy, and evangelists, though specific participants beyond Howard have not been announced. Together, the two events amount to the largest public celebration of Sheen's legacy since his cause gained momentum years ago.

The timing is striking. Catholic leaders in the United States are grappling with how to speak to a culture that is increasingly hostile to religious authority. Pope Leo XIV's recent public statements on American policy have drawn sharp reactions from both supporters and critics, and the question of whether Church leaders should engage the public square, and how, is as live as it has been in decades.

Sheen answered that question with his life. He engaged every medium. He spoke to millions. And he did it after years of preparation that most of his modern imitators have never attempted. Barron's message ahead of the beatification is clear: if you want to follow Sheen's example, start with his discipline, not his audience.

The Church is about to honor a man who earned his platform the hard way. In a media culture that rewards the loudest voice, where even bishops face accountability for conduct that falls short, Sheen's example is a reminder that credibility is built before the camera turns on, not after.

If Catholic communicators want to honor Fulton Sheen, they can start by picking up a book.