Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen beatified in St. Louis before 45,000 pilgrims
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle celebrated the beatification Mass for the pioneer of television evangelization on September 24 at the Dome at America's Center, with pilgrims attending from 48 states and more than 10 countries
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen was proclaimed Blessed on September 24, 2026, at the Dome at America's Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, celebrated the Mass as the representative of Pope Leo XIV. About 45,000 pilgrims attended, coming from 48 states and more than 10 countries. The beatification advances Sheen's cause for canonization. He pioneered evangelization through the media and brought the Gospel into millions of American homes.
The day began with music, testimonies and prayer before the Mass. Bishop Louis Tylka of Peoria, Illinois, said during the ceremony that the recognition came after years of prayer and preparation. "Through him we have been able to encounter the Lord and that wonderful message he always shares: God has loved you," Tylka said. He said the event reached beyond the Diocese of Peoria to the whole Church.
The legacy of an evangelizer who reached millions
Sheen was known for his television program "Life Is Worth Living." Born in 1895 in El Paso, Illinois, he was ordained a priest in 1919 and reached wide audiences through radio and television. His program drew as many as 30 million viewers, making him one of the first televangelists in America. He was also a priest of intense prayer who kept a daily Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament.
The miracle attributed to his intercession
A relic of the new Blessed, a fragment of his jawbone, was presented during the ceremony, carried by James Fulton Engstrom, a boy who was born without signs of life and whose recovery was attributed to Sheen's intercession. That miracle was decisive for the beatification, which Pope Francis approved in 2019. The celebration had first been set for December of that year but was postponed because of questions raised about Sheen's handling of priests as a supervisor in the Diocese of Rochester, New York.
In his homily, Tagle said the beatification does not reward celebrity but recognizes a life given to proclaiming the Gospel and serving the most vulnerable. "Blessed is the earthen vessel that draws its strength from Jesus," Tagle said, pointing to Sheen's humility and his dedication to his ministry.
EWTN provided extensive coverage of the beatification, with special programming on Sheen's life and his influence on evangelization through the media.
