By Amira Abuzeid, Catholic News Agency
(With files from an earlier CNA article by Tessa Gervasini)
[St. Louis – CNA/EWTN News] – The beatification Mass for Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen took place at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, on Sept. 24 with tens of thousands of the faithful in attendance.
Pope Leo XIV issued a papal decree granting that Fulton Sheen “may henceforth be called blessed.” Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, acting as the pope’s legate, read the apostolic letter at the Mass in St. Louis.
Blessed Fulton Sheen’s feast day will be Dec. 9, the anniversary of his death. That date also marks the first apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe to St. Juan Diego in 1531.
A display at the Archbishop Fulton Sheen Museum recalls Sheen’s pioneering work in television evangelization, with images of the archbishop beside a vintage television camera. (Photo by Jeffrey Bruno, CNA/EWTN News)
Archbishop 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.
Bishop Louis Tylka of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, has called Sheen a “trailblazer” due to his Emmy-winning television show “Life Is Worth Living.” The show aired on television from 1952 until 1957, discussing morality and Catholicism. Sheen “reached millions of people because of [the show],” Tylka said. “He was so far ahead of his time in that reality that we take for granted today.”
Sheen died due to heart disease on Dec. 9, 1979, the feast of St. Juan Diego.
The televangelist’s cause for canonization was first opened in 2002 under the leadership of the Diocese of Peoria, 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 attributed to his intercession. Parents of a stillborn baby, James Fulton, prayed through the intercession of Sheen and their son miraculously recovered. On June 17, 2014, the seven-member theological commission that advises the congregation unanimously agreed with the medical team’s finding.
On the eve of Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s beatification, Pope Leo XIV expressed his hope that the new American Blessed’s example will inspire innovative ways of spreading the Gospel with joyful enthusiasm.
An overhead view shows the procession and the congregation filling the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis for solemn vespers on Sept. 23, 2026, the eve of Sheen’s beatification. (Photo by Jeffrey Bruno, CNA/EWTN News)
Pilgrims kneel in prayer before the covered tomb of now Blessed Fulton J. Sheen in a side chapel of the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria, Illinois, on Sept. 23, 2026, the eve of Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen’s beatification in St. Louis. (Photo by Jeffrey Bruno, CNA/EWTN News)
Cardinal Timothy Dolan speaks at the beatification Mass for Archbishop Fulton Sheen on Sept. 24, 2026 in St. Louis. (Photo by Jeffrey Bruno, CNA/EWTN News)
The Mass was held at the Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis on. Sept. 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeffrey Bruno, CNA/EWTN News)
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle delivers the homily at Sheen’s beatification Mass. (Photo by Jeffrey Bruno, CNA/EWTN News)
A new image of Blessed Fulton Sheen is displayed after he is declared “blessed” at the Mass for his beatification on Sept. 24, 2026, at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis. (Photo by Jeffrey Bruno, CNA/EWTN News)
Cardinal Tagle elevates the Host at the beatification Mass for now Blessed Fulton Sheen. (Photo by Jeffrey Bruno, CNA/EWTN News)
A young girl during the beatification Mass for Archbishop Fulton Sheen on Sept. 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeffrey Bruno, CNA/EWTN News)
Cardinal Tagle stands before the new image of Blessed Fulton Sheen during the beatification Mass in St. Louis on Sept. 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeffrey Bruno, CNA/EWTN News
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