In the midafternoon on Sept. 24, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen became the first U.S.-born bishop to be declared blessed.
Blessed Sheen, a native of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, was beatified at a Mass at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis in front of an estimated 50,000 faithful.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect for the Dicastery for Evangelization, celebrated the Mass and served as the papal delegate for the beatification.
“Dear brothers and sisters, we thank our loving God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who has gathered us as a family of faith on the solemn occasion of the beatification of Archbishop Fulton Sheen — son of Illinois, son of the United States of America, son of the world!” Cardinal Tagle said to increasing applause.
The rite of beatification began as Bishop Louis Tylka of Peoria requested the beatification of Fulton John Sheen on behalf of the Diocese of Peoria and faithful throughout the world. Sheen’s great-nephew Paul Cunningham then read a short biography of his great-uncle’s life.
In an apostolic letter read first in Latin by Cardinal Tagle, and then in English by Bishop Tylka, Pope Leo XIV called Sheen “a tireless preacher of the Gospel through the modern means of communication and a diligent shepherd animated by missionary zeal,” and officially granted that he may henceforth be called “blessed.”
Cardinal Tagle unveiled the official portrait of Blessed Sheen hanging above the raised sanctuary platform. Video displays showed Blessed Sheen’s tomb at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria, where the same portrait was uncovered above his tomb — as well as a new plaque with his updated title.
The Engstrom family, the family of James Fulton Engstrom whose miraculous healing as a baby was the verified miracle required for Blessed Sheen’s beatification, presented a reliquary containing Blessed Sheen’s relic.
Bishop Tylka expressed his “profound gratitude” for the permission to celebrate the beatification today, joined by clergy, religious, lay faithful and members of the Sheen family.
“We are grateful for the heroic witness of this great evangelist, who dedicated his life to the proclamation of the Gospel and the support of the missions,” said Bishop Tylka, wearing one of Blessed Sheen’s pectoral crosses. “We pray that the Church in the United States and in mission territories throughout the world will benefit from the example of his holiness.”
Blessed Sheen is not “blessed” because he was a radio and TV celebrity, or because he gained a large following from his writing or global travels, Cardinal Tagle said in his homily. Instead, we can see his blessedness in two areas in particular.
“First, the missionary evangelizer is truly blessed, fortunate and happy because of the gift of communion with Jesus,” Cardinal Tagle said. “That’s the root of blessedness, communion with Jesus. As the Gospel clearly states, the risen Lord chooses and sends His friends to proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Blessed are you to be seen, chosen and sent by the Lord Himself.”
It is not blessedness to preach your own wisdom, nor to use preaching as an excuse to avoid the individual person in front of you, nor to choose yourself and go wherever you want, he said. Blessed Sheen referred to himself once as “a porter who is sometimes able to lead people to the open door of the house of God,” Cardinal Tagle quoted.
“The second aspect of blessedness of a missionary evangelizer is this: the missionary evangelizer is blessed by the communion with persons and peoples, especially the poor and the vulnerable, and this is communion in the name of Jesus Christ,” he said.
Blessed Sheen showed this both in his advocacy for people in poverty in the U.S. and also through his commitment to mission work around the globe — not just dedicating time and resources to those in need, but also spending time with people with leprosy in Uganda, Cardinal Tagle said.
“Blessed is the evangelizer converted by beholding and touching the wounds of the risen Christ in wounded brothers and sisters,” he said. “Blessed is the missionary who digs deep into the heart of the poor to meet Jesus there. Blessed Fulton J. Sheen!”
Since the beatification rite took place at the beginning of Mass, the Mass prayers for Blessed Sheen — which will be used on his Dec. 9 feast day going forward — were prayed for the first time as Mass proceeded. Bishop Tylka joyfully included “Fulton, and all your saints” during the eucharistic prayer.
The precious blood was consecrated in one of Blessed Sheen’s chalices, a Byzantine chalice on loan from the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Museum in Peoria.
People from more than 10 countries and at least 49 states were registered for the Mass, said Msgr. Jason Gray, executive director of the Archbishop Fulton Sheen Foundation and a priest of the Diocese of Peoria. The first reading was proclaimed in Spanish and the second reading in Portuguese, a nod to Sheen’s worldwide reach.
At the end of Mass, Bishop Tylka thanked everyone who had a role in the beatification celebration, including Pope Leo, Cardinal Tagle, apostolic nuncio Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the Diocese of Peoria, the Archdiocese of St. Louis and the Sheen family. He also thanked Bishop Daniel Jenky for promoting Blessed Sheen’s cause and advancing the work that led to this day.
“Above all, thanks be to God. It is through His providence that we have been brought to this historic moment,” he said. “It is God who has given the Church the extraordinary witness of the man we may now call Blessed Fulton Sheen.”
Bishop Tylka and the Diocese of Peoria are looking forward to the next step for Blessed Sheen: sainthood. In Bishop Tylka’s estimation, he is already a saint, and “we’re just trying to catch up with him,” he said.
Blessed Sheen will need one more approved miracle through his intercession in order to be declared a saint. There are six prospective miracles that his canonization cause is exploring right now, including a healing from stage IV cancer and another healing of a newborn, Msgr. Jason Gray said.
As the family who experienced the first miracle, the Engstroms were thrilled to participate in the beatification Mass, Bonnie Engstrom said earlier that morning. Bonnie and her husband, Travis, and their eight children traveled from their home in Washington, Illinois.
“This whole story for us, it’s happened in walking with the Church, with our loved ones and with Catholics all around the world, literally, who are praying for our son and who are reaching out to us and sharing their devotion to Fulton Sheen,” Engstrom said. “So for me, when I’m in my seat and I look out, I just feel like it’s going to be a foretaste of heaven, where we are all going to be worshipping God together and celebrating the Church as a whole and just the power of the body of Christ and every good grace that God has given us.”
Prayer for Canonization of Blessed Fulton J. Sheen
Heavenly Father, source of all holiness, You raise up within the Church in every age men and women who serve with heroic love and dedication. You have blessed Your Church through the life and ministry of Your faithful servant, Blessed Fulton J Sheen. He has written and spoken well of Your Divine Son, Jesus Christ, and was a true instrument of the Holy Spirit in touching the hearts of countless people. If it be according to Your Will, for the honor and glory of the Most Holy Trinity and for the salvation of souls, we ask You to move the Church to proclaim him a saint. We ask this prayer through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
