Fulton J. Sheen, a pioneer of Catholic communication, is now a blessed

– Gina Christian, St. Louis (OSV News)  

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization of the Holy See and delegate of Pope Leo XIV, yesterday delivered the Pope's declaration on the holiness of life and witness to Jesus Christ of Archbishop Sheen, at a Mass celebrated on September 24 at The Dome at America's Center, in the presence of thousands of people.

Amid applause from the pilgrims, Cardinal Tagle described Archbishop Sheen as a “son of Illinois, son of the United States of America” and “indeed, a son of the world.”. 

An attendance of 50,000 people is estimated.

Hundreds of clergy, including dozens of bishops and cardinals, entered the compound in procession for Mass, while several choirs, accompanied by an orchestra, performed a succession of hymns. The priests' vestments were embroidered with the initials "WYD," Archbishop Sheen's distinctive dedication to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

The Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, where Archbishop Sheen is from, had chosen the location to accommodate the large number of pilgrims who came for the beatification and commemorative events. According to organizers, approximately 50,000 people attended.

Many worshippers from the United States, Italy, Poland, and Brazil

During a press conference held a few hours before the Mass, Bishop Louis Tylka of Peoria stated that nearly every U.S. state and several other nations were represented by pilgrims. He added that many of the faithful came from Italy, Poland, and Brazil.

Nearly 90 bishops, some 1,000 priests, approximately 1,600 religious men and women, and almost 250 deacons were present, added Bishop Tylka, who was wearing Archbishop Sheen's pectoral cross. Among the concelebrating prelates was Archbishop Gabriele G. Caccia, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States.

Formal Decree of Beatification

The beatification—a papal act affirming that a person's presence in heaven is worthy of belief—officially took place between the Penitential Rite and the Gloria of the liturgy. Bishop Tylka formally requested the beatification of Archbishop Sheen from Cardinal Tagle. 

His great-nephew, Paul Cunningham, read a brief biography by Archbishop Sheen, born in El Paso, Illinois, in 1895 and died in New York in 1979. Cardinal Tagle then proclaimed the apostolic letter of Pope Leo XIV, which declared the beatification in Latin. Subsequently, Bishop Tylka read the letter in English, and both texts were received with applause. 

With the public proclamation of the papal decree, Archbishop Sheen was formally considered among the “beati” of the Church, a word that comes from Latin and means “blessed”.

The young man James Fultom Engstrom, recipient of the miracle, presents a relic

The resurrection of James Fulton Engstrom After being stillborn in 2010, an event attributed to the intercession of Archbishop Sheen, his death was formally declared the miracle that led to Archbishop Sheen's beatification. James, along with his parents and siblings, presented an important relic of Archbishop Sheen during the liturgy.

Housed in a special case called a reliquary, the relic is the jawbone of Archbishop Sheen, chosen because it represents the archbishop's extraordinary gifts as an orator, teacher, and evangelist.

As part of the beatification, a portrait of Blessed Fulton Sheen, with a halo, was also unveiled. In the image, he holds a piece of chalk, which he used—along with a chalkboard—on his famous Emmy Award-winning television show, “Life Is Worth Living.”. 

The image was also presented simultaneously in the Diocese of Peoria, at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception.

A 'Jesus storyteller'‘

The first reading of the Mass of beatification, from the prophet Isaiah 52:7-10 , The first reading was delivered in Spanish, while the second reading, 2 Corinthians 4:1-2, 5-7 , It was proclaimed in Portuguese, and the Gospel, taken from Mark 16:15-20, in English. 

The prayers of the faithful were offered in various languages, illustrating both the universal character of the Church and the missionary vocation of Blessed Fulton J. Sheen, who was the director in the United States of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith (Pontifical Mission Societies).

In his homily, Cardinal Tagle praised Archbishop Sheen as a “storyteller of Jesus” and a “missionary who delves deep into the hearts of the poor to meet Jesus there.”.

Defense of the poor

The cardinal highlighted the passionate defense of the poor that Bishop Sheen made during the Second Vatican Council, during the 1964 debates on the document. “Ad Gentes”, Regarding the missionary activity of the Church, then Bishop Sheen asked his brother bishops to "affirm" the notion of poverty and the bishops who came from poor and suffering sectors of the Church.

“Just as only a wounded Christ could convert an unbelieving Thomas, only a Church wounded by poverty can convert an unbelieving world,” he said. 

"I never tire of telling the Gospel"

Cardinal Tagle praised Archbishop Sheen for establishing genuine connections with the people he met, preached to, and ministered to.

“The evangelizing missionary is blessed by communion with people and nations, especially the poor and vulnerable, and this is a communion in the name of Jesus Christ,” he said.

Cardinal Tagle shared how Archbishop Sheen told a friend, who asked him why he had become a priest, that he had been called to share the Gospel and tell the story of Jesus. 

«"I never tire of telling it; I never tire of improving the way I tell it. I love my vocation," Archbishop Sheen said, according to Cardinal Tagle.

Praying for the canonization of Blessed Sheen

In his remarks after Communion, Bishop Tylka urged all those present to pray for the canonization of Archbishop Sheen, leading a joint prayer with that intention.

“It is God who has given the Church the extraordinary testimony of the man whom we can now call Blessed Fulton J. Sheen,” he said.

After thanking the numerous prelates who participated in the Mass, including Archbishop Mitchel T. Rozanski, whose archdiocese hosted the beatification, and representatives from the Archdiocese of New York, the Diocese of Rochester, and the Pontifical Mission Societies, Bishop Tylka noted: “Your presence here today is a beautiful reminder that, while Peoria is incredibly proud to call Fulton Sheen one of its own, he is a gift to the entire Church.”.

“He proclaimed the Gospel fearlessly in challenging cultural times.”

“Fulton Sheen has left us a great legacy,” said Bishop Tylka. “He proclaimed the Gospel fearlessly in challenging cultural times. He supported the Church’s missions around the world. He won tens of thousands of converts and preached to millions. His time of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament was the source of his understanding of the Son of God. He used every gift God gave him for one purpose: to bring people to Christ. And his legacy is now ours.”.

After the mass, attendees were invited to remain in prayer to venerate the relics of Archbishop Sheen.

The mother of the miracle baby 

Bonnie Engstrom, the mother of the boy whose miraculous recovery after being stillborn in 2010 was recognized as the miracle that prompted the beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, said she hoped the beatification Mass on September 24 would be “a foretaste of heaven.”. 

In 2011, Monsignor Gray led the investigation into the miracle of James Fulton Engstrom's birth, which the late Pope Francis officially recognized as such in 2019. Even before James's birth, Bonnie and her husband, Travis Engstrom, had placed their son under the protection of Archbishop Sheen and had planned to name him Fulton. 

Bonnie Engstrom commented that she appreciated the new Blessed's sense of humor, his intelligence, and "his deep love for Jesus Christ.".

Bishop Barron: “He opened the door to the evangelization of the world.”.

Among other testimonies gathered these days is that of Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, who shared his reflections on Archbishop Sheen in a homily delivered on September 23 at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, where hundreds of people gathered for vespers the day before the archbishop's beatification.

Bishop Barron, who considered it “one of the greatest privileges of my life to be able to deliver this homily on the eve of the beatification of Fulton Sheen,” said that he “opened the door to the evangelization of the world,” and that he was considered, “by general consensus,” as “the most outstanding English-language preacher of the 20th century.”.

A key figure in the modern history of the Catholic Church

He described Archbishop Sheen as “my role model and inspiration” and as “one of the key figures in the modern history of the Catholic Church,” who emerged amid a mid-20th-century Catholic “renaissance” that included «Graham Greene, Dorothy Day, Jacques Maritain, Henri de Lubac, Thomas Merton, Evelyn Waugh and many others.”

Dedication to the Holy Hour, “his friendship with Jesus Christ”

What made Archbishop Sheen "a blessed and holy man of God" was his friendship with Jesus Christ, Bishop Barron said.

He then added that “nowhere was Fulton Sheen’s rootedness in the grace of Christ more evident than in his virtually lifelong dedication to the Holy Hour "Daily, uninterrupted prayer lasting one hour in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.".

“Now I enjoy the Holy Hour… in my private chapel every morning before starting my workday,” he said, before concluding by emphasizing that St. Mary “is very present in Fulton Sheen’s spiritual life, from his baptism at St. Mary’s Church to his ordination at the cathedral dedicated to Mary, through his deep devotion to the rosary and, finally, his more than 30 trips to Lourdes to visit, as he himself said, ‘the woman I love’.”.

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- Gina Christian She is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X @GinaJesseReina. Maria Wiering, editor-in-chief of OSV News, contributed to this article.

 This article compiles information about the beatification published yesterday and today by OSV News. You can consult them. here.