We dedicate today’s reflection to the Blessed Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, who was beatified on September 24th in St. Louis.

Blessed Fulton Sheen is revered for so much. A remarkable theologian, teacher, and television personality—each a platform he used to speak into the hearts of the Catholic community and well beyond.

In his homily at the beautification Mass, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle described Blessed Fulton Sheen’s perspective on caring for the poor as an “imperative for the following of Christ, of the joining of the Church and the missions, and of the conversion inspired by the Holy Spirit.” At CMMB, this is what we remember Blessed Fulton Sheen for, and its roots are deeply tied to our own mission.

Blessed Fulton Sheen served on CMMB’s Board of Directors from 1946 to 1976, and his efforts to encourage pharmaceutical companies to donate medicine to CMMB were pivotal to the growth of our medical donations—distributed around the world to those who need them most. During his beatification Mass, the Gospel was taken from Mark 16:15-20. Jesus said to his disciples, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.”

The whole world is immense. But the Gospel’s message is lived out one person at a time. As Cardinal Tagle highlights in his homily, this was something Blessed Fulton Sheen understood deeply. His life reached millions, but his love for the poor called him to see the person who could so easily be overlooked.

When we reflect on Jesus’s call to “go into the whole world,” Blessed Fulton Sheen’s legacy reminds us that it’s not about seeing the world all at once, but about seeing the person in front of us and delivering the care they need—whether through medical donations, support, or treatment.