The Vatican announced that Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen will be beatified on Sept. 24 in St. Louis.
Sheen “is an inspiration not only to all of us who continue his work of prayer and support for the Church’s missionary work across the globe, but for all those whose faith has been strengthened by his preaching, broadcasting, writing, and holy Catholic life,” Monsignor Roger Landry, national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies U.S., told EWTN News.
The Holy See officially informed Bishop Louis Tylka of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, that the cause for Sheen could proceed to beatification in February, following years of challenges and delays.
On March 25, the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints announced the “indescribable joy” that Sheen, “national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies from 1950-1966, will be beatified on Sept. 24 in St. Louis,” Landry said.
“I’m also thrilled that Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the pro-prefect of the Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization, to be the papal legate, celebrant, and preacher of the beatification Mass” in Missouri, he said.
“Not only is Cardinal Tagle, like Sheen, an incredibly gifted preacher, but he will no doubt be able to emphasize the contributions that soon-to-be Blessed Fulton Sheen made and in many ways continues to make to the Church’s mission work,” he said.
The announcement, which fell on the the solemnity of the Annunciation, “is likewise very fitting,” Landry said. “Archbishop Sheen spent his life continuing the work of the Archangel Gabriel, calling us to rejoice because the Lord is with us, and imitating the response of Mary in placing himself as a servant of the Lord, allowing his whole life to develop according to the Lord’s word.”
Venerable Fulton Sheen
Peter John Sheen was born in El Paso, Illinois, on May 8, 1895, and was called “Fulton” in honor of his mother’s maiden name. Sheen was ordained a priest of the Peoria Diocese on Sept. 20, 1919.
On June 11, 1951, he was consecrated as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York and remained in the position until 1966. He was then named the bishop of Rochester, New York, until his retirement in 1969 at the age of 74.
He became known as a trailblazer for television evangelization with his Emmy-winning show “Life Is Worth Living.” The show aired on television from 1952 until 1957, discussing morality and Catholicism.
Sheen died due to heart disease on Dec. 9, 1979.
Sheen’s cause for canonization was first opened in 2002 under the leadership of the Diocese of Peoria, Sheen’s birthplace, and from then on he was referred to as a servant of God. Pope Benedict XVI declared him venerable in June 2012.
On March 6, 2014, the board of medical experts who advise the then-Congregation for the Causes of Saints unanimously approved a reported miracle of Sheen’s, in which a stillborn baby survived due to his intercession.
Pope Francis approved of the miracle of Sheen’s on July 5, 2019.
