Francis Joseph Sheed (20 March 1897 in Sydney – 20 November 1981Campion, Edmund. "Sheed, Francis Joseph (1897–1981)", ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, 2012
/ref> in Jersey City) was an Australian-born lawyer, Catholic writer, publisher, speaker, and lay theologian. He and his wife Maisie Ward were famous in their day as the names behind the imprint

Sheed & Ward Sheed and Ward was a publishing house founded in London in 1926 by Catholic activists Frank Sheed and Maisie Ward. The head office was moved to New York in 1933. The United States assets of Sheed and Ward have been owned by Rowman & Littlefie ...

and as forceful public lecturers in the Catholic Evidence Guild.

Life and career

Early life

Sheed was born in Sydney on 20 March 1897 to John Sheed, a descendant of Scottish Presbyterians, and English-born Mary Maloney. His mother's family were

Irish Catholic Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the Briti ...

. Baptized Catholic, at the insistence of their father, Frank Sheed and his brother Jack were raised

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

. Frank would attend the Methodist Church, and surreptitiously make his Catholic First Communion and Confirmation. He attended Sydney Boys’ High School and in 1917 obtained a BA degree from the University of Sydney.

Catholic Evidence Guild

In 1920, Sheed travelled to London, where he encountered the Catholic Evidence Guild whose lay Catholics expounded the faith. He joined the group and became an effective soapbox orator. With an understanding of Protestant attitudes toward Catholicism, Sheed took up writing and speaking on the subject of Catholic

apologetics Apologetics (from Greek , "speaking in defense") is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics an ...

, the rational defense of the Catholic faith. Through his activity with the Guild he met Maisie Ward, daughter of

Wilfrid Ward Wilfrid Philip Ward (2 January 1856 – 1916) was an English essayist and biographer. Ward and his friend Baron Friedrich von Hügel have been described as "the two leading lay English Catholic thinkers of their generation". Life Wilfrid Ward wa ...

, a prominent Catholic essayist and biographer.

Sheed & Ward

Sheed and Maisie Ward were married in April 1926. That same year, they moved to London, where Sheed and Maisie's brother Leo established the publishing house of Sheed and Ward. When Leo Ward left to become a priest, Maisie took his place as publisher. Their son

Wilfred Sheed Wilfrid John Joseph Sheed (27 December 1930 – 19 January 2011Christopher Lehmann-Haup ''The New York Times'', 19 January 2011) was an English-born American novelist and essayist. Biography Sheed was born in London, to Frank Sheed and Maisie ...

was an essayist and novelist; their daughter, Rosemary, a translator. As publisher of an all-star roster including Karl Adam,

Hilaire Belloc Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc (, ; 27 July 187016 July 1953) was a Franco-English writer and historian of the early twentieth century. Belloc was also an orator, poet, sailor, satirist, writer of letters, soldier, and political activist. H ...

, G. K. Chesterton,

Christopher Dawson Christopher Henry Dawson (12 October 188925 May 1970) was a British independent scholar, who wrote many books on cultural history and Christendom. Dawson has been called "the greatest English-speaking Catholic historian of the twentieth century ...

Ida Friederike Görres Ida Friederike Görres (2 December 1901, in Schloss Ronsperg, Bohemia – 15 May 1971, in Frankfurt am Main), born Elisabeth Friederike, Reichsgräfin von Coudenhove-Kalergi, was a Catholic writer. From the Coudenhove-Kalergi family, she was the ...

Ronald Knox Ronald Arbuthnott Knox (17 February 1888 – 24 August 1957) was an English Catholic priest, theologian, author, and radio broadcaster. Educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford, where he earned a high reputation as a classicist, Knox wa ...

Hugh Pope Henry Vincent Pope, better known as Fr. Hugh Pope (1869–1946), was an English Dominican biblical scholar, Professor of New Testament Exegesis at the ''Pontificium Collegium Internationale Angelicum'', the future Pontifical University of Saint T ...

, and

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires '' Decl ...

, Sheed maintained a robust Catholic faith while keeping abreast of progressive trends. Frank Sheed wrote a constant stream of books touching on almost every aspect of basic

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, several of which remain in print. His translation of St. Augustine's '' Confessions'' remains acclaimed. In 1933 they opened a branch in New York and became "the most influential Catholic publishers in the English-speaking world". In 1956

Lille Catholic University Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the Nord ...

awarded him a doctorate in divinity. They sold the firm in 1973. He published an autobiography, ''The Church and I'' (1974). Frank Sheed died on 20 November 1981 at Jersey City and was buried in the Holy Name cemetery.

Works

*''The Catholic Evidence Guild'' (1925) *''A Map of Life'' (1933) *''Theology and Sanity'' (1947) *''Communism and Man'' (1945) *''Theology for Beginners'' (1957) *''To Know Christ Jesus'' *''Nullity of Marriage'' *''What Difference Does Jesus Make'' (1970) *''Marriage and the Family'' *''The Church and I'' utobiography Garden City, NY: Doubleday, (1974). *''Saints are Not Sad'' (1949) *''Society and Sanity'', Sheed & Ward, 1953. *''Christ In Eclipse'', Sheed Andrews and McMeel, Inc. Kansas City, (1978)

Bibliography

* Frank Sheed (1974), ''The Church & I'', Doubleday. * Maisie Ward (1963), ''Unfinished Business'', New York: Sheed & Ward. * Maisie Ward (1973), ''To and Fro on the Earth: A Sequel to an Autobiography'', New York: Sheed & Ward. * Wilfrid Sheed (1985), ''Frank and Maisie: A Memoir with Parents'', New York: Simon & Schuster. * David Meconi (2011), Introductory Essay in ''Frank Sheed and Maisie Ward: Spiritual writings'', Maryknoll: Orbis Books.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheed, Frank Roman Catholic writers 1897 births 1981 deaths Lay theologians Writers from Sydney