In a 19 October ceremony, Bishop Louis Tylka of Peoria led local church and civic leaders in breaking the ground outside of the Spalding Institute to launch a project to convert Venerable Fulton J. Sheen’s alma mater into a cultural center blending faith, history and innovation.
“Just imagine, two years from now when this project is completed, we will see many, many visitors – many more than we currently have – coming to visit and to experience Fulton Sheen,” Bishop Tylka said.
Born in 1895 in El Paso, Illinois, Fulton J. Sheen was ordained a Peoria diocesan in 1919 and later evangelised using radio and television.
During his time as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York (1951-1966), he became one of the first televangelists with his Emmy-award-winning show “Life is Worth Living.”
Plans include a studio, interactive displays and a library to research Archbishop Sheen, whose cause for sainthood was opened in 2002.
“We want to be able to be a place where people could actually come and be able to say, ‘Well, if he did it using radio and TV, we can do it using podcasts and other types of media that’s out there today,’ and prepare for whatever the media is to come,” Bishop Tylka told reporters.
