They opened the letters, recorded the sacrifices and reminded donors that every gift mattered
When Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen spoke about the missions on television, preached an appeal or published a new issue of MISSION Magazine, the response could arrive by the thousands.
Envelopes poured into the national office of The Pontifical Mission Societies in New York. Some contained large checks. Others held a few dollars, coins saved by children or brief notes explaining the sacrifice behind the gift.
And behind the scenes, a small army of women opened those envelopes, recorded the offerings and made sure the donors received a response.
Helen Fitzpatrick was one of “the gals,” as she still affectionately calls them.
Now 89, Fitzpatrick began working part time at the Society in 1954, while she was a senior at St. Vincent Ferrer High School in Manhattan. After graduation, she joined the staff full time and remained for about a decade.
Her principal responsibility was ensuring that acknowledgment notes were sent to those who supported the missions. The work required accuracy, patience and attention to detail.
Every contribution mattered.
The women in the office knew that behind each donation was a person: a family making a sacrifice, a child offering coins, a parishioner responding to Bishop Sheen’s appeal.
They were not simply processing money. They were helping maintain a relationship between American Catholics and the worldwide Church.
“I loved my work,” Fitzpatrick recalled. “It was very meaningful because you knew you were helping the missions.”
The volume of correspondence could be overwhelming. Thousands of letters arrived regularly, each requiring a response and careful recording.
For the women working in the office, the letters were not just administrative tasks. They were stories of faith.
Some donors explained what they had given up in order to contribute. Others enclosed handwritten notes describing their prayers for missionaries. The staff saw firsthand how Bishop Sheen’s message had inspired ordinary people to participate in the Church’s missionary work.
The women who opened those envelopes were often the first people in the Society to encounter those acts of generosity.
They recorded the sacrifices.
They prepared the acknowledgments.
They reminded donors that every gift mattered.
Another member of “the gals” was Carmen Mendoza.
Mendoza’s connection with Bishop Sheen began unexpectedly. During the Cuban Revolution, Sheen had traveled to the island to celebrate the marriage of one of his relatives. During that time, he helped one of Mendoza’s sisters, Sofia, receive a scholarship to Rosemont College.
Young, single and hoping to become a flight attendant, Mendoza approached Bishop Sheen with a request.
Because Trans World Airlines sponsored his television program, she wondered whether he might recommend her.
Instead, Bishop Sheen told her she was not going to become a stewardess.
He offered her a different path.
He gave her a job at The Pontifical Mission Societies.
“My job was to open the letters, collect the money and send the thank-yous,” Mendoza recalled. “It was a gift to work there with him.”
By the time Mendoza joined the staff, the daily rosary was no longer part of the office routine. But the 3 p.m. pause remained.
“He would always come out at 3 p.m. and share with us a three-minute reflection that would remind us why what we did mattered,” she said.
During those years, the office began producing donor acknowledgments in-house, an operation substantial enough to resemble a small print shop.
A sign at its entrance captured the staff’s spirit:
“The impossible, we do immediately. Miracles might take a little longer.”
Mendoza continues to read MISSION Magazine today. She and her husband, Hector Orlansky, an Argentine whom she married 52 years ago, both came to regard Bishop Sheen with deep admiration.
“He was one of my heroes,” Hector said, “a man with a culture and wisdom I have never seen in my life.”
The work of these women rarely appeared in public.
They were not the voices heard on radio programs. They were not standing before television cameras. Their names were not known by the millions who listened to Bishop Sheen.
But they were essential to the success of the missionary movement he helped build.
Every day, they transformed donations into relationships.
A check was not simply deposited. A letter was not simply answered. Each interaction was an opportunity to remind a person that his or her contribution was part of something much larger: the missionary life of the Church.
For many donors, the acknowledgment letter from the Society was their personal connection with the missions.
The women who prepared those letters understood the importance of that connection.
They knew that a child’s small offering, a widow’s sacrifice or a family’s donation represented love for people they might never meet.
Their work required organization and precision, but it was ultimately a ministry of gratitude.
They witnessed thousands of examples of generosity.
They saw how Bishop Sheen’s message reached beyond churches and television screens, inspiring ordinary Catholics to see themselves as participants in the universal mission of the Church.
The women who worked at The Pontifical Mission Societies became part of a unique moment in the history of Catholic communication.
They lived through the growth of Bishop Sheen’s influence, the expansion of MISSION Magazine and the increasing awareness among American Catholics that the Church extended far beyond their own parishes.
They saw firsthand the connection between communication and mission.
A story published in a magazine could inspire a donation.
A television appeal could lead a family to make a sacrifice.
A handwritten note could remind someone that their generosity was valued.
Behind every successful appeal was a team of people who made sure the response was personal.
The women in the office understood something Bishop Sheen repeatedly emphasized: missionary work was not only about money. It was about communion.
The purpose of every gift was to unite Catholics across continents through prayer, sacrifice and love.
Decades later, the memories of these women reveal an often overlooked part of Bishop Sheen’s missionary legacy.
His ability to communicate was extraordinary, but communication required people who could transform inspiration into action.
The letters had to be opened.
The gifts had to be recorded.
The donors had to be thanked.
The connection had to be maintained.
The women behind the mission carried out that essential work with dedication and faith.
They helped ensure that every donor understood that his or her gift mattered.
Because behind every donation was a person.
And behind every person was a connection to the universal Church.
Click HERE to read the full issue of MISSION Magazine where this article was featured →
https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/71285148/mission-magazine-dedicated-to-blessed-fulton-sheen
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