Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen wrote this prayer book originally entitled, The Armor of God, for our troops who were fighting during World War II. When his canonization cause was officially opened in September of 2002, the Sheen Foundation used this prayer book, now renamed the Wartime Prayer Book, as a fundraising tool to help promote his sainthood process as well as provide the much-needed spiritual support that both Catholic and non-Catholic troops lacked.

The normal retail price for the Wartime Prayer Book is $9.95, but through the generosity of its publisher, Sophia Institute Press, we have been able to distribute this spiritual treasure for every $3.50 donation that we receive. And with the help of Catholics in the Military, our distributor, we can ensure that our Catholic Military Chaplains have a steady supply of these prayer books which they can freely distribute to our soldiers in need.

A great blessing that has come about through this campaign is that even non-Catholic soldiers are asking for the Wartime Prayer Book. To date (May 2007), we have been able to distrbute over 85,000 copies both overseas and at here at home. And just as Bishop Sheen drew people of all faiths to Christ during his lifetime, he continues to do so through this campaign. What a wonderful means of evangelization!

The Wartime Prayer Book is a pocket-sized prayer book containing 182 pages of valuable prayers and insights that soldiers can draw comfort and consolation from while working in the battlefields. It encourages the reader to truly engage in conversation with God. Some of the topics include: Thoughts in Wartime, Thoughts for Soldiers, Reflections on Prayer, The Eucharist, The Blessed Mother and many more.

"Do not think that you have to be on your knees to pray. Sacred Scripture tells us: 'Pray always.' This means there is also the Prayer of Action." - page 32

"The pleasures of the world are always delightful in anticipation, disgusting in retrospect. The joys of the spirit seem difficult in prospect, but are thrilling in their possession. God is reminding us that our peace is with Him." - page 63

During World War II, we had 3,220 Catholic Military chaplains serving our troops. Today, we have less than 325...and the number continues to decline due to the retirement of many chaplains and the lack of priests being deployed.

Just as one of our chaplains remarked: "Life in Iraq is only different from the real world in that we do not have the luxury of waiting until later to address the deeper questions of life..." The Wartime Prayer Book has been a blessing for many of our soldiers and it is the Sheen Foundation's hope that we may continue to provide this important spiritual resource to our troops every year through the generosity of our donors.