After some delay, Archbishop Fulton Sheen will be beatified by the Catholic Church, which takes him just one step away from sainthood. The Diocese of Peoria announced the news on Feb. 9.
The date and location of the beatification Mass have not been announced.
There are three steps to sainthood: being declared venerable, blessed and saint. “Venerable” is the title given to a deceased person formally recognized by the pope as having lived a “heroically virtuous” life or having offered their life as a martyr, as the website of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops explains.
To be beatified, or declared “blessed,” a canonical investigation must prove that a miracle took place through the venerable person’s posthumous intercession. Canonization, or being publicly declared a saint, requires a second miracle.
The Vatican accepted a miracle through Archbishop Sheen’s intercession in 2019, but the beatification process was delayed after the Diocese of Rochester, New York, raised concern that the archbishop may have moved a priest with allegations of abuse during his time as bishop there. An investigation exonerated Archbishop Sheen.
Archbishop Sheen was well known for his nationally syndicated television show “Life is Worth Living,” that aired Tuesday evenings beginning in 1951. Millions of people watched the show over its six-year run, and Archbishop Sheen won an Emmy in 1953 for “Most Outstanding Television Personality.”
Born in 1895 in El Paso, Illinois, Sheen was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Peoria in 1919. Sheen had a natural talent with media and started his first radio show in 1930.
In 1950, he became national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, raising money to support the missions. One year later, Sheen was named an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York.
From 1961 to 1968, he hosted “The Fulton Sheen Program,” and in 1966, he was appointed bishop of Rochester, New York. He resigned in 1969 and was appointed the archbishop of titular see of Newport Wales by Pope Paul VI.
During his lifetime, he published dozens of books and was a well-known figure in the United States. He died on Dec. 9, 1979, in New York City.
“Archbishop Fulton Sheen was one of the greatest voices of evangelization in the church and the world in the 20th century,” said Bishop Lou Tylka of the Diocese of Peoria, where Archbishop Sheen’s sainthood cause was opened in 2002. “As he journeyed through the different stages of his life, his ability to share the Gospel and truly relate to people drew countless souls into an encounter with Jesus — one that transformed not only his life, but more importantly, the lives of those he touched.”