The Catholic Morning Show

Blessed Fulton Sheen Formed Me: Faith, Leadership, and a Growing Catholic University – Msgr. James Shea – 10/20/2026

Episode Summary

University of Mary president Msgr. James Shea explains why families are choosing his faithful Catholic university, then reflects on Blessed Fulton Sheen, whose voice shaped his childhood on the farm, and on what Sheen would say to a divided country two weeks before Election Day.

Episode Notes

Deacon Mark Campbell welcomes Msgr. James Shea, president of the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, since 2009 and a priest of the Diocese of Bismarck.

Msgr. Shea discusses:

• What's new on campus: 65 tuition-free scholarships, including the Nursing, Accounting, and Elementary Education Academies; the annual Day of Service, North Dakota's largest one-day volunteer event; and construction on the Marauders Athletics Complex with the state's largest sports dome, a new Welcome Center, and Saint Joseph's Residence Hall
• The Saint Teresa of Calcutta Community for Mothers, which helps single mothers and women facing unplanned pregnancies complete their degrees
• What's driving growth: a faithful Catholic identity families can trust, paired with strong professional programs in nursing, health sciences, engineering, business, and education
• The winter garden in "the Lodge" and why growing up in a family of eight children keeps him out of his office and among students
• Blessed Fulton Sheen: listening to Sheen's recordings on the tractor during planting and harvest, and how the beatification moves him to examine his own priesthood
• Lessons for leaders: you don't have to choose between intellectual seriousness and a deep love for Jesus Christ, and good preaching helps people recognize themselves
• Sheen's word for today: don't look for salvation in politics, don't excuse in yourself what you condemn in your opponents, and remember that courage and charity belong together

Resources:

• University of Mary
• Tuition-free academies and scholarships

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