this came from my friend Nancy, who received it from our joint friend Antoinette.
Msgr. Franco is the Pastor of St. Augustine's in Ossining, which is also the parochial school that Joe and Tim attended.
Way back when Sheen had his successful TV program, Hilary Franco was the "angel" who mysteriously wiiped the chalkboard.
The whole article – not very long – is interesting including touching on Sheen's weakness – vanity. i am just excerpting the comments by Msgr. Franco –
First Things: "The True Stardom of Fulton Sheen"
On June 28, Pope Benedict officially recognized Archbishop Sheen as someone who had lived a life of “heroic virtue,” and declared him “Venerable.” The devout priest from Peoria who became the first televangelist, commanded a weekly audience of 30 million, and appeared on the cover of Time, is now just one step away from beatification, and a second from sainthood, pending two respective miracles. The Vatican is already studying the case of a stillborn child who—having shown no vital signs for 60 minutes—astonishingly came back to life, after his mother prayed for the Archbishop’s intercession.
The advance of Sheen’s cause has elated his many supporters, especially three priests who’ve had a special devotion to it.
Monsignor Hilary Franco, who served as the Archbishop’s assistant when he headed the Society for the Propagation of the Faith in America—and is the only surviving member of his New York household—told me how thankful he was for the announcement: “I am a living witness to Archbishop Sheen’s holiness.”
Despite all the acclaim he received, Sheen strived to maintain “the simplicity of a dedicated parish priest,” said Monsignor. For Sheen, the priesthood was a precious gift that needed to be nourished through continual prayer. Every day, no matter where he was, even if traveling abroad, he made it a point to spend one hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament. It kept his mind constantly on the divine, and fortified his work.
Archbishop Sheen’s generosity was legendary. Apart from donating his own earnings to the Church, he raised enormous sums of money for the poor, the missions, and additional works of mercy. He brought famous celebrities into the Church, but brought far more unknowns into it, who were famous “in the eyes of God.” His private acts of charity were never publicized, but flowed from the heart of a servant. Monsignor Franco revealed how the Archbishop rescued a man named Victor from the streets:
He had suffered from leprosy and was so badly deformed he was afraid to show himself during the day. When Archbishop Sheen discovered Victor’s desperate condition, he immediately saw to it that he was cared for, given proper medical attention, and invited him to dine with us every Friday night. He embraced Victor’s full human dignity and treated him as a member of his own family.
Leave a Reply