Bishop Sheen in New York
Bishop Sheen's work brought him to NYC from Washington, D.C. where he lived for many years (he built a house and lived there with his dog and a couple priests at 4646 Hawthrone Ln NW). For over twenty years Sheen had taught graduate level philosophy at the Catholic University of America before his appointment in 1950 to his new role of National Director of the Propaganda Fide. That year he sold his house in DC and moved to NYC. The following year he was consecrated bishop in Rome in 1951. His TV show began in 1952. Below is an image of his Art Deco chapel in DC.
New York City is in many ways the center of the world and Sheen loved the city. He had a permanent residence in Manhattan until 1966, when he moved to Rochester, NY. He then moved back in 1969 and lived there in until his death in 1979.
Sheen's episcopal residence in New York was in a fourth-floor apartment at 109 East 38th Street in Manhattan. To this day, devotees have been known to pass by and offer a prayer over the years in gratitude and recognition of his holiness and fine work over the years.
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| Bishop Seen's home in NYC - his chapel was on the first floor |
The building was built in 1920 with a Neo-Federal facade, located in the historic Murray Hill District. It has three units. Sheen's cook lived on the top floor. His priest assistant lived on the third floor. He lived on the second floor. It had a marbled lobby, 11-foot high ceilings, Waterford chandeliers, designer inlay flooring, and a rooftop terrace. The brownstone building had been donated by a wealthy family.
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| Bishop Sheen's living quarters above on the second floor |
This apartment was near to the location of the office of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, in those years located at 366 Fifth Avenue. This was about a ten-minute walk from his home, located off Park Ave. Sheen enjoyed the walk along Park Avenue. He moved from this property in 1966 when he was named bishop of Rochester, NY.
When he retired in 1969 at age 74, Sheen moved back to NYC to a small high-rise apartment in Manhattan, called the Pavilion. It was built in 1962 and opened in 1963. The location was at 500 East 77th Street. This is where Sheen led a quiet life and died in his chapel while praying ten years later at age 84. The cause of death was heart disease. He had had open heart surgery previously.
Bishop Sheen's Secretary's Memories
Sheen's private chapel at the 109 East 38th flat was on the main floor. That chapel no longer exists today. The diocese sold the building. In 1984 the interior was altered. The chapel had been a converted dining room, with Sheen's study/office opening up to it (a sort of den that adjoined the chapel).
The last known living person who remembers the chapel was Msgr. Hilary Franco, New York Italian priest who lived with him as part of his household from 1962-1966. Msgr. Franco is the last link with Sheen and had a front row seat as his secretary and peritus who accompanied him in Rome at the Vatican Council.
Msgr. Franco is a living witness who attests to the sanctity of Bishop Sheen and to his diligence in prayer. In 2014, he published a book entitled, Bishop Sheen: Mentor and Friend. In this precious book, Msgr. Franco shares his memories, including walking down the stairs and seeing Sheen praying in the little chapel before dawn at 5:30 am on the first morning of Msgr. Franco was in residence.
Visitors were common, lunch guests who came at the invitation of the Bishop. He would first invite them to make a brief visit to the chapel, where they could say hello to the "Head of the House," as he would quip. Msgr. Franco writes of the chapel: "I note that the chapel, exquisite in its baroque style, is clearly visible from the Bishop's office" (Bishop Fulton J. Sheen Mentor and Friend, p. 12).
Msgr. Franco describes how the little chapel was positioned next to Bishop Sheen's study. He writes, "while the doors to the study are usually kept open, enabling the Bishop to look at the Blessed Sacrament," when visitors came to pray the Bishop would close the door to allow the guests their privacy. (Source: Bishop Fulton J. Sheen Mentor and Friend, p. 49).
After the Bishop's morning Holy Hour he would serve Fr. Franco's daily Mass at 7:30 AM and then celebrate his own Mass at 8:00 AM. The chapel was usually empty, although sometimes they were joined by the in residence cook, Frederic from Norway, or on occasion some of the secretaries employed at the Society for the Propagation of the Faith office would stop by to attend Mass on their way to the office.
It is believed Communist icon Bella Dodd underwent the first steps of her dramatic conversion when she payed Sheen a visit and his home and he invited her to join him for a quiet pray in his house chapel. She underwent her reversion and received weekly instruction from the Bishop before she returned to the Catholic Church at St. Patrick's Cathedral by going to Confession and receiving Holy Communion on April 8, 1952.
Book with Photos of the Chapel
In 1958 a book was published with the only known interior images of the chapel. The 30 black and white photos, and 2 color photos on the dust jacket, illustrate Sheen posing for Mass. They were taken by Yousuf Karsh of Ottawa, Canada. The images make the book unquestionably important, as they offer the only glimpse we have today of the interior of the private house chapel.
The name of the American version of the book is entitled, This is the Mass. The author was Henri Daniel-Rops. The publisher was Hawthorn Books, Inc. In short, three great artists contributed to the book, Sheen, Karsh, and Daniel-Rops.
The author, an outstanding Catholic intellectual from France, created the book as a written text describing each step of the Mass, explaining its history and significance. He also included various prayers for meditation. Sheen wrote the introduction, beginning with these words: "Some things in life are too beautiful to be forgotten."
Sheen further wrote in the introduction:
"The chapel which appears in the photographs is our own private chapel and the altar boy is our nephew, Francis Jerome Cunningham III. Literary and liturgical assistance of an invaluable kind was supplied by the Very Rev. Msgr. Edward T. O'Meara, S.T.D., the Assistant National Director of The Society for the Propagation of the Faith." (Source: This is the Mass, p. 18).
The angelic altar boy, Francis Jerome (nicknamed "Jerry"), was the grand nephew of Bishop Sheen. He was born in 1950 and would have been about 7-years old in the images. He passed away in 1973 at age 22. His Irish twin brother, born in 1951, was named Fulton John, after Bishop Sheen (he passed away in 1989 at age 38). The brothers lived in nearby Yonkers and are buried in Hawthorne, New York. Also buried with them is their father, Jerry, a retired lawyer, and mother, the favorite niece of Bishop Sheen, Joan Sheen Cunningham, who passed away in 2022 at age 95.
Below is an image of the gilded tabernacle, a unique twentieth century baroque creation. Today its whereabouts is unknown.
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| The golden Baroque tabernacle |
The Interior Design
The images display a very interesting Baroque chapel that appears almost like a movie set or sound stage. The view was set by two massive Roman pillars with golden capitals, framed with four angels, two life-sized that were kneeling in adoration on the ground.
The background was a crimson velvet curtain stretching across the wall. The golden tabernacle with four cherubs was designed in such a way that it included an attached golden cartouche that contained a crucifix, surmounted with a royal crown and a gilt carving of the Holy Ghost.
The chapel had a high ceiling and the walls had custom molding and coffered paneling. There was also a small shrine to Our Lady off the side of the Epistle side of the altar, with a golden statue of Our Lady and the Christ Child holding up a golden orb with a cross on top of it.
The altar was elevated by one step, with red carpet. The floor was a white with black checkered surface, popular in those years. The altar, designed with gold leaf and red panels, was dressed with four candles, required for Low Mass with a bishop. There was also a lit bugia candle on the altar for Mass, also required for Mass with a bishop.
A large throne and prie-dieu kneeler were also in the chapel, with matching red cushions, where the bishop would pray and spend his daily Holy Hour. The throne is today at the Bishop Sheen museum in Peoria. The kneeler was for many years kept at his tomb in the crypt of St. Patrick's Cathedral, located under the main altar. It had been donated to St. Patrick's Cathedral by Sheen's cousin Thomas (and wife Yolanda) Holliger.
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| Sheen's former tomb at St. Patrick's Cathedral, with his kneeler |
Despite his frequent travels, when home he would celebrate daily Mass early in the morning. He was also faithful to his own practice of a daily Holy Hour in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. He would typically kneel for half of the hour, and set for the remaining half. The Bishop shared in his sermons that he would pass by the chapel many times in a day and often stop for prayer.
The chalice used by the Bishop for his daily Masses was an antique from Russia. It is made of jasper and he willed it to St. Patrick's Cathedral. He wrote in his autobiography published posthumously the year following his death: "The chalice I use every day in Holy Mass was used in St. Petersburg in the days of faith" (Source: Treasure in Clay, p. 89.
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| Sheen's favorite chalice, from Russia, made of jasper |
When Sheen left in 1966, the chapel was disbanded and he took some of the pieces with him, including the golden statue of Our Lady (Our Lady of Television), the throne and kneeler, and the two kneeling angels (see below for his chapel in 1969).
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| Image of Bishop Sheen's chapel in Rochester, 1969 |
Bishop Sheen's last chapel was at the Pavilion, luxury apartments where he rented a small flat on Manhattan's East Side with a view of the East River. The address was 72nd Street. He retired in October and by December 1969 he moved there. One of the rooms was a converted chapel where he passed away while in prayer. In his autobiography he writes of his love for Holy Russia and shares this bit about his last tabernacle: "The little tabernacle in my private chapel is a replica of a Russian church" (Source: Treasure in Clay, p. 90).
Lastly, Sheen wrote all his sermons in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. He also kept a desk in his chapel where he could write. In his autobiography he recounts this interesting bit of information:
"I have often been asked how to prepare sermons, and I can only speak of my own experiences after a long life of preaching. All my sermons are prepared in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. As recreation is most pleasant and profitable in the sun, so homiletic creativity is best nourished before the Eucharist. The most brilliant ideas come from meeting God face to face. The Holy Spirit which presided at the Incarnation is the best atmosphere for illumination. Pope John Paul II keeps a small desk or writing pad near him whenever he is in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament; and I have done this all my life" (Source: Treasure in Clay, p. 75).
When Sheen passed away the contents of his estate went to family and friends. For those with an interest, it is recommended to visit the Archbishop Fulton Sheen Museum in Peoria, Illinois. There can be seen various items from his estate that have been collected and donated by those who knew him and relatives of those who knew him. Although his chapels were dismantled after his various moves and death, they survive in pieces here and there, with some items lost and others still in private collections.
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| The altar crucifix |
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| Sheen offering Mass in the chapel |
