Inaugural edition of Sheen Awards honors Mother …
On Sept. 25, one day after the beatification of Archbishop Fulton Sheen, members of the media and entertainment world as well as the Church at large gathered in Peoria, Illinois — the hometown of now-Blessed Fulton Sheen — for the inaugural Sheen Awards.
Among the notable figures in attendance were Bishop Louis Tylka of the Diocese of Peoria; Bishop John Barres of the Diocese Rockville Centre, New York; Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota; Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus in “The Chosen”; David Henrie, host of EWTN’s travel series “Seeking Beauty”; and Siobhan Fallon Hogan, host of the EWTN podcast “Catholics and Cappuccinos.”
Tylka said Sheen understood the Gospel deserves to be proclaimed with excellence.
“The Sheen awards recognize men and women carrying that missionary spirit into our own time through film and television, digital media, writing, preaching, music, evangelization, and the missionary spirit,” he said.
Seven awards were presented including the Radio and Podcast Impact Award, the Evangelization Impact Award, the Mission and Humanitarian Impact Award, the Innovation Impact Award, the Digital Creator Impact Award, the Television and Streaming Impact Award, and the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Lifetime Achievement Award.
Mother Angelica, EWTN’s foundress, posthumously received the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award. The award was bestowed on Mother Angelica in recognition of her lifetime of service to the Church and her pioneering use of television to proclaim the Gospel through the Eternal Word Television Network.
Sheen “pioneered the use of media to evangelize, and he passed on the torch to others,” Tylka said. “Mother Angelica carried the torch forward, pioneering broadcasting television through what is now a global network.”
EWTN Studios President Peter Gagnon accepted the award on her behalf.
“On behalf of Michael Warsaw, CEO, and myself, we want to thank Bishop Tylka and the Archbishop Sheen Foundation for honoring Mother Angelica with this award,” Gagnon said in his acceptance speech.
Gagnon worked with Mother Angelica for many years and pointed out that “one of her favorite expressions was to say, ‘This is awesome!’”
He said: “When there would be a papal event, she would say, ‘Wasnʼt that awesome?’ … I think tonight she would say, ‘This is awesome.’”
A little over one year after the death of Sheen — on Dec. 12, 1980 — EWTN was officially incorporated by Mother Angelica. Reflecting on this, Gagnon said: “I donʼt think itʼs a coincidence.”
“Mother Angelica took the torch from Archbishop Sheen because she saw the power of reaching people through the media, through television,” he said. “She, like Archbishop Sheen, could reach through that camera lens and talk to you. And when she was talking to you, she was talking to you directly.”
Gagnon added: “Also like him [Sheen], she had just an incredible love for the Church and a zeal for souls. I never knew anyone who loved Our Lord as much as Mother Angelica did. Her impact on many throughout the world is truly humbling and amazing.”
EWTN has aired “Life Is Worth Living,” Sheen’s popular television show, for over 20 years. Gagnon emphasized that the network is “proud to share his words and message throughout the world.”
In an additional statement commenting on the significance of the award, Michael Warsaw, chairman and CEO of EWTN Global Catholic Network, noted: “Among the great Catholic evangelists of the 20th century, Blessed Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, and our own Mother Angelica, stand out for the extraordinary ways they embraced media to proclaim the Gospel, defend the dignity of the human person and speak the truth to a world desperately in need of Jesus Christ.”
“It is especially meaningful to see Mother Angelica honored in the name of Archbishop Sheen, whose pioneering use of radio and television demonstrated the power of media in service of the Gospel,” Warsaw pointed out. He said the recognition is “particularly poignant as we mark the 10th anniversary of Mother Angelica’s passing.”