Bishop Sheen to the Rescue!

On September 24, 2026, a momentous occasion of great importance for the Church will take place in St. Louis, Missouri. The Venerable Archbishop Fulton John Sheen will be beatified. He was well known to past generations of Americans through his pioneering evangelization efforts in television and his tremendous work as head of the Society of the Propagation of the Faith. Over the last twenty-five years he has been rediscovered by generations of young Catholic Americans. Episodes of his television show “Life is Worth Living” can be found on EWTN, You Tube and other media outlets.
            
What can the soon-to-be Blessed teach us today?
            
Bishop Sheen teaches us the importance of the Holy Eucharist in the life of the Church.  He was a witness to the truth that the Eucharistic Presence of Jesus is the very source and summit of the Church’s life and each Catholic’s life. He wrote, “The Mass is a means of reaching Calvary and grasping the cross of Christ. Whenever Mass is celebrated the cross is planted in different locations around the world, making the Mass a continuation of Calvary.” For his entire priesthood of 60 years, he spent a Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament each day without exception. He said, “It is impossible for me to explain how helpful the Holy Hour has been in preserving my vocation… (the Holy Hour) kept my feet from wandering too far.  Being tethered to a tabernacle, one’s rope for finding other pastures is not so long.”
            
Bishop Sheen gave a great witness to the importance of the Blessed Virgin Mary in our life. He had a profound, lifelong devotion to her. Upon his Ordination to the Priesthood on September 20, 1919, Fulton Sheen made two resolutions. First, to spend an hour in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament each day, as we have noted. Second, to offer Mass every Saturday in Honor of the Mother of God. He kept these resolutions until the end of his life. He wrote in his autobiography, Treasure in Clay, “When I was baptized as an infant, my mother laid me on the altar of the Blessed Mother in St. Mary’s Church, El Paso, Illinois, and consecrated me to her. As an infant may be very unconscious of a birthmark, so I was unconscious of the dedication – but the mark was always there. Like a piece of iron to the magnet, I was drawn to her before I knew her but never drawn to her without Christ.” He prayed the Litany of the Blessed Virgin each evening of his life from the time of his First Holy Communion.  His episcopal motto showed his devotion to her, “Da per Matrem me venire” meaning, “Grant that I may come to You through Your Mother.” He visited Lourdes over 30 times. He preached with great faith the message of Fatima that Our Lady brought in 1917 especially her call to pray the Rosary daily.
            
Bishop Sheen demonstrated throughout his life a great love for people and an appreciation for their dignity as children of God. This came through clearly in his preaching and in his interaction with people of all walks of life. He always made time for others and to show them the love God had for them. It is not surprising that the miracle accepted for his beatification would demonstrate his love for others and especially the most vulnerable.
            
The miracle accepted by the Church for the beatification of Bishop Sheen involved an amazing occurrence after the birth of a baby boy, James Fulton Engstrom, not far from Peoria, Illinois on September 16, 2010. During his birth at home to his parents, Bonnie and Travis, an emergency arose due to a knot in the umbilical cord that resulted in the absence of a heartbeat and a pulse in the newborn for 61 minutes. Little James Fulton was rushed to a local hospital when the doctors treated him with no success. Finally, they decided with sadness to pronounce him dead. At that point, miraculously a pulse and heartbeat were detected. An MRI of the brain shortly after birth showed severe brain damage due to oxygen deprivation. Three months later a second MRI showed no sign of brain damage. Infant James Fulton grew with no subsequent impairment or disabilities. How could this be? His parents explain that they had great devotion to Bishop Sheen and began to pray fervently asking him to save their son. They asked that the word be spread asking others for prayers to Bishop Sheen as well. James Fulton Engstrom is now almost 16 years old and he will carry the relic of Bishop Sheen in procession during the Mass of Beatification.
            
We see that in Bishop Sheen we have a powerful witness to a deep personal relationship with Jesus and His Mother as the basis for vibrant evangelization. His love for others inspires us to see the dignity and worth of every human person, especially the most vulnerable, including the unborn and those just born.
            
Soon-to-be Blessed Fulton Sheen, pray for us!
 
Most Reverend William J. Waltersheid
Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh