As we walked through the beautiful gardens that occupy his backyard, Earl told me that he and his wife had their house built in the 1970s and they’ve lived there ever since. It’s common for Earl to share stories of events that happened decades ago, especially one that happened over 60 years ago but has left a lasting impression on his life. This story is about Archbishop Fulton Sheen and the surprising fact of his two visits to Grand Blanc, Michigan, during his life.  

“I don't think there's going to be another Fulton Sheen in our time. And that's really what you need to shake people up. He was able to tell people about how things really were and to get them excited about being Catholic.”

Earl recalled the Women’s Club of Holy Family Parish in Grand Blanc hosting Archbishop Sheen at a breakfast event where anyone interested was invited to attend. Sheen, who had become popular from his television program, “Life is Worth Living,” attracted Catholics and non-Catholics alike, which Earl thought to be one of the most compelling reasons to attend.

“My boss at the time and his wife were not Catholic, but she was interested in Fulton Sheen, so she signed up and went to the event. They were an example of the kinds of people who came to hear him speak.”

The breakfast event visit was the second time that Sheen came to Grand Blanc, and thereby created beautiful layers to Sheen’s connection to the city that Earl has lived in for decades. The first visit was to say Mass at the church and didn’t include many interactions with the community, while the second visit broadened the impact Sheen had on the city. Earl chuckled as he remembered the fact that Archbishop Sheen was also invited to Grand Blanc High School for coffee with the school administrators.

This man, whose visits to Grand Blanc have traveled through time in the heart and memory of Earl Hagen, is now Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, a bishop who spread the message of Christ through broadcast programs, starting in 1926 when he was just a priest doing Lenten radio broadcasts in New York, which grew into his television program, “Life is Worth Living,” which began in 1951. His show became the most widely viewed religious show in the history of television, awarding him an Emmy for Most Outstanding Television Personality in 1953. The show ended in 1957, after which he went on to serve as Bishop of Rochester, New York, from 1966-1969. Afterwards, he was appointed titular Archbishop of Newport, Wales. He passed away in 1979 after spending his life as a priest, bishop, and writer.

Earl remembers Sheen as a “visionary,” someone who, to him, could awaken not just Americans but people around the world to the reality of evil and could lead them to the love of the Catholic Church.

Archbishop Sheen’s cause for canonization was opened in 2002, and in 2012, Pope Benedict XVI named him Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen after the attribution of one miracle to his intercession. Archbishop Sheen still needs a second miracle for his cause to proceed to beatification and then canonization as a Catholic saint.

“I think he should be canonized because of his achievements. He was an achiever. He was a learned man, and he brought many people to convert,” Earl said. “I think he should have been a saint years ago. He was a person that most people from that time still remember.”

To Earl, the example of Sheen’s life and ministry has left a lasting impact, with or without the title of sainthood.

“It doesn't matter to me if he never gets it. He’s already a saint in my mind.”