Archbishop Fulton Sheen Beatified in St. Louis, First Step to Sainthood

Pope Leo XIV presided over the beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen on Thursday, September 24, 2026, in St. Louis, Missouri, designating him as Blessed Fulton Sheen—a formal step toward possible canonization and sainthood. The ceremony took place at the Dome at America's Center, which was selected to accommodate the anticipated attendance after no venue in Sheen's home Diocese of Peoria, Illinois could hold the expected crowds. Approximately 50,000 pilgrims attended, including priests, bishops, nuns, seminarians, and deacons from 49 U.S. states and 10 countries, many traveling to witness this milestone for the first American-born Catholic bishop to reach this stage in the sainthood process.

Sheen, who died in 1979, was a pioneering radio and television evangelist born in El Paso, Illinois, in 1895. He gained prominence in the 1950s with his television series "Life Is Worth Living," in which he stood before a chalkboard delivering moral and religious lessons dressed in a cassock, cape, and skullcap. The program reached approximately 30 million viewers weekly and competed directly with entertainment giants including Milton Berle and Frank Sinatra. Sheen won an Emmy Award in 1953, reportedly thanking his writers as "Matthew, Mark, Luke and John," and was featured on the cover of Time magazine. He served as head of The Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States for 16 years and later served as a bishop in New York before retiring as an archbishop.

Pope Leo XIV, formerly known as Robert Prevost, grew up in Chicago and cited Sheen's broadcasts as formative to his own Catholic faith development. In his remarks on Wednesday, the day before the beatification, Leo XIV urged English-speaking pilgrims to follow Sheen's example and find new ways of spreading Christian faith "with joyful enthusiasm." Leo also noted that Sheen served as "a beacon of faith, hope, and love who shone through radio and television for decades."

To qualify for beatification, the Catholic Church requires verification of at least one miracle attributable to the candidate's intercession. In 2010, an infant was born without a heartbeat but recovered after the child's parents prayed to Sheen. Pope Francis confirmed this miracle in 2019, paving the way for the beatification. The Vatican is currently evaluating six additional miracles attributed to Sheen; should a second miracle be verified, Pope Leo XIV could proceed with canonization, the final step to make Sheen a saint.

The beatification comes after a six-year delay. The Vatican had originally scheduled Sheen's beatification for December 21, 2019, in his hometown of Peoria, but postponed the ceremony to investigate his tenure as bishop regarding how he handled cases involving priests accused of abuse. The investigation found no wrongdoing, and the Vatican approved the ceremony in February 2026. After his death, Sheen was initially buried at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York; his niece won a court battle in 2019 to move his remains to Peoria's Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, which has become a pilgrimage destination.