Path to Sainthood
Archbishop Fulton Sheen Beatification Expected to Draw 50,000 in St. Louis
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Key Points
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St. Louis was selected for the beatification because it is close to Peoria and can accommodate the expected crowd of about 50,000 people.
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Sean D’Arcy, a parishioner at New York’s Church of St. Agnes, recalled meeting Sheen as a toddler on a 1962 train ride, when Sheen spent about an hour entertaining him and his siblings by pointing out scenery outside the window.
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D’Arcy later worked across the street from St. Agnes in the Chrysler Building and began using the church as a daily prayer stop before eventually making it his home parish; in 2025, he helped establish a monthly Mass dedicated to Sheen.
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Sheen played a role in the 1946 conversion of Clare Boothe Luce, a prominent writer, congresswoman and Catholic convert, after providing her with five months of religious instruction following the death of her daughter.
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Sheen’s missionary work included leading the Catholic Church’s global efforts to relieve human suffering for 16 years; at a 1953 St. Louis conference on world missions, an estimated 270,000 people came to hear him, and he raised funds for missions serving impoverished communities worldwide.
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen will be beatified at a Mass in St. Louis this year, drawing roughly 50,000 Catholics to one of the final steps toward sainthood. The Church recognized a 2010 medical recovery — a newborn revived after 61 minutes without a pulse — as a miracle attributed to Sheen's intercession, according to AP News. One more verified miracle is needed before he can be canonized as a saint.
Sheen died in 1979 but remains one of America's most influential Catholic figures. Pope Francis has praised him as an inspiration ahead of the beatification, according to the Houston Chronicle. The radio and television preacher reached millions during the 20th century while promoting missionary work worldwide.
From Peoria Priest to National Broadcaster
Sheen grew up near Peoria, Illinois, and was ordained there in 1919. He became one of America's most prominent Catholic broadcasters, using radio and television to reach millions. According to AP News, Pope Francis grew up listening to the American television preacher and later praised him as an inspiration. Sheen's gift was turning complex theology into simple, relatable lessons for ordinary Catholics.
The Miracle That Started the Beatification
The Church's path to Sheen's beatification hinged on a stunning medical recovery. In 2010, a newborn named James Fulton Engstrom was born without a pulse. After 61 minutes of resuscitation efforts, he revived with no lasting brain damage. The Church investigated and declared this a miracle attributed to Sheen's intercession. According to AP News, canonization as a saint requires one more verified miracle to be recognized by the Vatican.
Devotion Spans Generations and Continents
Sheen's influence extended far beyond the pulpit. He led the Catholic Church's global missionary efforts for 16 years, raising funds and organizing relief work in impoverished communities worldwide. At a 1953 mission conference in St. Louis, an estimated 270,000 people gathered to hear him speak. People who encountered Sheen carry those memories decades later—one parishioner recalls meeting him as a toddler on a 1962 train, when Sheen spent an hour entertaining him by pointing out scenery outside the window.
St. Louis was chosen for the beatification because it sits near Sheen's native Peoria and can accommodate the expected crowd of 50,000 Catholics. Supporters traveling to the ceremony include parishioners from New York's Church of St. Agnes, where Sheen spent his final years. In 2025, a parishioner helped establish a monthly Mass dedicated to Sheen at that church, continuing his legacy among the faithful.
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