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Archbishop Sheen Beatification Set for September 24, 2026

By Drooid · Sep 24, 2026, 3:26 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Sheen Beatified

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen will be beatified on Sept. 24, 2026 at The Dome in St. Louis, Missouri.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle will serve as principal celebrant, representing Pope Leo XIV at the beatification Mass.
A miracle credited to Sheen involved James Fulton Engstrom, born 2010 without a pulse, whose heart resumed after prayers.
Sheen becomes the first U.S.-born bishop and the fourth U.S.-born priest to be beatified.
Organizers expect tens of thousands, with ticket sales showing over 47,000 attendees for the St. Louis event.

Summary

Barres Urges Renewal

Bishop John O. Barres issued a pastoral letter urging missionary renewal, noting he was baptized by Sheen in 1960.
Barres suggested Sheen would ethically embrace AI for evangelization without replacing the human person.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle warned the beatification imposes heavy missionary responsibility on Peoria Catholics and called Mary a disciple-mother.
Bishop Robert E. Barron named Sheen the premier 20th-century English-language preacher and a model for the New Evangelization.

History

Historical Context

Vatican II, opened by John XXIII in 1962 and closed by Paul VI on 8 December 1965, issued the Constitution on Sacred Liturgy and the decree Inter Mirifica (4 December 1963), authorizing bishops (about 2,500 attended) to use modern media and vernacular preaching. That reform underlies Fulton Sheen’s 2026 beatification at St. Louis’s dome, presided by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle and lauded by Bishop Robert E. Barron.

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Sheen Beatified

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen will be beatified on Sept. 24, 2026 at The Dome in St. Louis, Missouri.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle will serve as principal celebrant, representing Pope Leo XIV at the beatification Mass.
A miracle credited to Sheen involved James Fulton Engstrom, born 2010 without a pulse, whose heart resumed after prayers.
Sheen becomes the first U.S.-born bishop and the fourth U.S.-born priest to be beatified.
Organizers expect tens of thousands, with ticket sales showing over 47,000 attendees for the St. Louis event.

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