For many Americans, the name Fulton Sheen is a familiar one. For others, this autumn might have been the first time they encountered the U.S. bishop’s works.
On Sept. 24 in St. Louis, Bishop Fulton Sheen (1895-1979), who was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, in 1919, was beatified by the Church, making him Blessed Fulton Sheen, and bringing him a step closer to sainthood.
The Church’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints opened the Cause of Archbishop Sheen for sainthood in 2002.
More than two decades later, his beatification Mass in St. Louis attracted nearly 50,000 pilgrims from across the country, including groups from the Diocese of Columbus.
Father Jonathon Wilson, pastor at Westerville St. Paul the Apostle Church, and Father Thomas Gardner, pastor at Newark St. Francis de Sales Church, were among those who took groups to the beatification. Father Wilson traveled with a group of 24 pilgrims representing various parishes, and Father Gardner traveled with a group of 10 pilgrims from his parish.
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Vinny Herwig, from the St. Paul the Apostle Church, shared how the pilgrimage was special to her, given it was the “beatification of someone (she) felt like (she) knew.” She shared that watching Fulton Sheen was part of her family’s weekly routine growing up, and how, because of a shared interest in his television program, her immigrant grandparents were able to feel like they were “a part of a bigger community.”
Herwig’s story of feeling a personal connection to Blessed Sheen is not the only.
Father Wilson said he was “raised with the sense that (Blessed Sheen) was a very significant figure in the life of our Church,” and as his faith grew, he discovered Sheen’s book. He shared that Blessed Sheen was influential throughout the years in his life.
The bishop authored more than 60 books and hosted the television show “Life is Worth Living” from 1951 to 1957. His television work earned him an Emmy Award in 1953, beating out many other popular television shows at the time. It is also estimated that his weekly viewership was more than 30 million at the peak of his television run.
He hosted another show, The Fulton Sheen Program, which ran from 1961-68.
In 1951, the year he started Life is Worth Living, Blessed Sheen was appointed an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York. He later was appointed Bishop of Rochester, New York, in 1966, where he served for nearly three years.
The bishop’s lasting impact of influence and popularity was seen at his beatification with the vast crowds in attendance and the nearly 1,000 priests that concelebrated the beatification Mass.
Father Gardner shared what it was like to be a part of the historic Mass.
“It was incredibly moving to concelebrate with about a thousand of my brothers at Mass. I couldn’t stop smiling as we processed through the throngs of joyful Catholics, many of whom were young families with their kids,” he said.
Father Gardner remarked, too, on seeing a 15-year-old boy who was healed through the intercession of Blessed Sheen. He was stillborn but his mother prayed for the intercession of Blessed Sheen, and he was miraculously revived. The boy and his family carried the relics of Blessed Sheen during the Mass.
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Jami Warner, from St. Paul the Apostle, also reflected on her experience of the Mass.
“What struck me most was the privilege of being there with thousands of Catholics to witness this historic moment in the life of the Church,” she said. “It was a powerful reminder that Sheen’s mission continues and that each of us is called to use the gifts and opportunities God gives us to share the Gospel.”
With Blessed Sheen as the first American-born bishop on the path toward sainthood, it is an opportune time to get to know Blessed Sheen more, or for the first time. Be it taking time to read some of his books, watching videos from “Life is Worth Living,” learning his charitable works or praying for his intercession, many opportunities are available to come to know Blessed Fulton Sheen before he, God willing, becomes St. Fulton Sheen.
Just as pilgrims from the Columbus diocese hold Blessed Sheen as someone they feel like they know, let this be an opportunity for all to get to know Blessed Sheen and share in the joy on his way to sainthood.
Resources on Blessed Sheen from the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, where Blessed Sheen’s tomb is permanently housed, are available to learn more:
- General resources and links page: Beatification of Archbishop Fulton Sheen Tool Kit — Catholic Diocese of Peoria
- Recommended book list: Sheen_BookList.pdf
- Prayer for canonization: Sheen_PrayerForCanonization.pdf