Venerable Fulton Sheen to be beatified today

the future Blessed Fulton J Sheen

Source: Vatican Media,

Venerable Fulton J Sheen is set to be beatified later today, Thursday, 24 September 24, 2026, in St Louis, Missouri, United States.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, will preside at the beatification Mass, representing Pope Leo XIV.

After his heroic virtue was recognized, Fulton Sheen was declared Venerable in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI. In 2019, Pope Francis authorised a decree recognising a miracle through his intercession. This recognition cleared Archbishop Sheen for beatification, after which he will have the title "Blessed."

The future Blessed Fulton Sheen was known for his dynamic preaching, especially on television and radio.

Born to an Irish family in El Paso, Illinois, on May 8, 1895, Sheen discovered his call to the priesthood at the age of 24 and was ordained a priest in 1919.

He pursued higher studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington (US), the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium), and the Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas in Rome.

He returned to the US in 1926 and began teaching at the Catholic University of America, a position he held until 1950. Sheen served as the Bishop of Rochester, New York, from 1951 to 1969, and Pope Paul VI later appointed him as the Titular Archbishop of Newport, Wales, in 1969.

A gifted teacher and speaker, Sheen's homilies were much appreciated. In 1930, he began participating in the Sunday radio program entitled 'The Catholic Hour,' which reached an estimated four million listeners at the height of its popularity.

In 1951, he began hosting a weekly television series, 'Life is Worth Living,"'on matters of faith that attracted some 30 million viewers. Archbishop Sheen won an Emmy Award, receiving the honour for Most Outstanding Personality in 1953.

He died in New York at the age of 84, on December 9, 1979.

Speaking the General Audience in St Peter's Square yesterday, Pope Leo XIV expressed his hope that the new American Blessed's example will inspire innovative ways of spreading the Gospel with joyful enthusiasm.

He said: "Tomorrow in Saint Louis, Missouri, Venerable Fulton Sheen will be beatified," he said.

"May the example and intercession of this holy bishop, known for his evangelizing work through the media, inspire many others likewise to find new ways of spreading the Gospel message with joyful enthusiasm."

The beatification Mass will take place at The Dome at America's Center in Saint Louis.

According to the Diocese of Norwich, organisers expect nearly 45,000 pilgrims from 48 US states and twelve countries, together with more than 80 bishops and hundreds of priests.