Archbishop Fulton Sheen Beatified in St. Louis

Beatification Ceremony and Papal Recognition in St. Louis

The celebration in St. Louis opened with a lengthy procession featuring deacons, priests, religious, and bishops, alongside Apostolic Nuncio to the United States Archbishop Gabriele Caccia. Bishop Tylka of the Diocese of Peoria formally requested the beatification, while Paul Cunningham, a great-nephew of Sheen, read a brief biography during the rites. Cardinal Tagle read the official apostolic letter from Pope Leo XIV in Latin, which Bishop Tylka repeated in English. The letter described Sheen as an “unwearying preacher of the Gospel through modern means of communication and a solicitous pastor animated by missionary zeal.”

Organizers chose St. Louis over Sheen’s native Peoria because the local sports arena offered the necessary capacity for the massive crowd, accommodating attendees who traveled from at least 49 states and over ten countries. The event featured all-day confessions, Eucharistic adoration, and an exhibition dedicated to the new blessed. James Fulton Engstrom, a 16-year-old whose 2010 recovery from a prolonged period without breathing was recognized by Pope Francis in 2019 as the miracle necessary for the cause, brought the official relic to the altar.

Reframing Media Celebrity and Missionary Vocation

During his homily, Cardinal Tagle emphasized that Sheen’s path to beatification stemmed from his communion with Jesus, the poor, and the vulnerable, rather than his status as a television and radio pioneer. In the early 1950s, Sheen reached an estimated 30 million weekly viewers with his program Life Is Worth Living, competing directly with Milton Berle and earning an Emmy Award in 1952. Born in El Paso, Illinois, in 1895 and ordained in Peoria in 1919, Sheen later served as a professor at the Catholic University of America, director of the United States section of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, auxiliary bishop of New York, and bishop of Rochester until his death on December 9, 1979.

Tagle cautioned against interpreting evangelization through the lens of worldly self-affirmation or media fame, recalling an exchange between Sheen and Pope Pius XII where the American bishop declined to count his converts to avoid pride. Sheen frequently characterized his role as that of a successful porter leading individuals to the open door of God’s house. Citing readings from the Gospel of Mark, Isaiah, and Saint Paul, Tagle reiterated that true beatitude involves proclaiming Christ rather than oneself, serving as humble “vases of clay” dependent entirely on divine power.

The 30th Parallel and Ministry to the Vulnerable

The homily also highlighted Sheen’s advocacy for a poor and wounded Church, referencing a speech he delivered during the Second Vatican Council on November 9, 1964. At the council, Sheen urged participants to focus on the 30th parallel, pointing out that the majority of the world’s poverty and the majority of Council participants originated south of that line. He later expanded on this theme in a 1967 television conference titled 30th Parallel, connecting global economic disparities to the spiritual transformation described in the Testament of Saint Francis.

To illustrate this commitment, Tagle recounted Sheen’s visit to a leprosarium in Buluba, Uganda, which housed 500 patients. Overcoming an initial wave of fear, Sheen reached out to hold the mutilated hand of a patient who had lost his lower arm and hand, considering himself the 501st person affected by the disease. Cardinal Tagle concluded that the new blessed found his true strength by contemplating and touching the wounds of Christ within vulnerable human beings.