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<p>Pope Leo XIV announced Blessed Sheen’s feast day will be on Dec. 9, the anniversary of his death.</p>
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<p>ST. LOUIS — Archbishop Fulton Sheen, despite his humble origins in small-town Illinois, aspired to great things as an academic and as a communicator of the Catholic faith. On Sept. 24, before a crowd of tens of thousands at The Dome at America’s Center, the farm-boy-turned-mass-media star was declared “Blessed” after the reading of a decree signed by Pope Leo XIV, a fellow Midwesterner.</p>
<p>Via his decree, Pope Leo announced Blessed Sheen’s feast day will be on Dec. 9, the anniversary of his death. His feast day is expected to be on the calendar of the Catholic Church in the United States. </p>
<p>Cardinal Luis Tagle, the Pope’s representative and the principal celebrant of the beatification Mass, reflected on the meaning of “blessed” during his homily — noting that throughout history many who shared the Christian faith suffered persecution, yet their lives were still marked by joy. It is Sheen’s deep, humble relationship with Jesus Christ and his radical solidarity with the poor and vulnerable that characterized his life as a missionary, one that all Catholics should emulate, Cardinal Tagle said.</p>
<p>Despite his massive worldly popularity and the fact that he personally accompanied countless converts in their journey to become Catholic, Cardinal Tagle noted that Sheen did not “claim” the converts as his own but rather described himself as a mere “porter” who led people to the “open door of the house of God.”</p>
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<figure><img src="https://publisher-ncreg.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/20260924180932_4bab5b7c5e4c6eb7dae8b82ff04d1a1008cc0164d940eec8113f325931ef6ad8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260924180932_4bab5b7c5e4c6eb7dae8b82ff04d1a1008cc0164d940eec8113f325931ef6ad8" data-rendition-name="original" width="2400" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Tagle-Sheen Mass"/><figcaption>Cardinal Luis Tagle, who serves as the Pope’s representative and the principal celebrant of the beatification Mass on Sept. 24, 2026, in St. Louis, reads the proclamation.<span>(Photo: Jeffrey Bruno for EWTN/National Catholic Register)</span><span>Jeffrey Bruno for EWTN/National Catholic Register/Catholic News Agency.</span></figcaption></figure>
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<p>“It is for being a zealous and creative evangelizer, an advocate for mission that Fulton Sheen is called ‘blessed’ or ‘fortunate’ or ‘happy.’ … Blessed is the Evangelizer, converted by beholding and touching the wounds of the Risen Christ in wounded brothers and sisters; blessed is the missionary who digs deep into the heart of the poor to meet Jesus there. Blessed Fulton J. Sheen!” Cardinal Tagle proclaimed.</p>
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<figure><img src="https://publisher-ncreg.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/20260924180944_a4d2447a7d829c6dbfa0ae578c0a5ad499e61584b9af36dc62aad644bef35524.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260924180944_a4d2447a7d829c6dbfa0ae578c0a5ad499e61584b9af36dc62aad644bef35524" data-rendition-name="original" width="2400" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Sheen Mass"/><figcaption>Cardinal Luis Tagle delivers the homily at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis on Sept. 24, 2026, during the beatification Mass for Blessed Fulton Sheen. <span>(Photo: Jeff Bruno for EWTN/National Catholic Register)</span><span>Jeffrey Bruno for EWTN/National Catholic Register/Catholic News Agency.</span></figcaption></figure>
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<p>Jam-packed crowds of Catholics of all ages — from the elderly who were around when Sheen’s shows first aired, to numerous families with small children — had descended on the stadium for the Mass, which began with a lengthy procession of some 1,000 priests, 89 bishops and hundreds of seminarians and deacons.</p>
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<figure><img src="https://publisher-ncreg.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/2026092419094_bd6eedfe624de3d0159761421d5f281d4e40e5e45ea947ac2bffcc1b09caf914.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2026092419094_bd6eedfe624de3d0159761421d5f281d4e40e5e45ea947ac2bffcc1b09caf914" data-rendition-name="original" width="2400" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Sheen beatification Mass"/><figcaption>Thousands of faithful attend the beatification Mass at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis on Sept. 24, 2026.<span>(Photo: Jeff Bruno for EWTN/National Catholic Register)</span><span>Jeffrey Bruno for EWTN/National Catholic Register/Catholic News Agency.</span></figcaption></figure>
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<figure><img src="https://publisher-ncreg.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/20260924180944_e59344e0db34166f174a79bfcc29f9008bf62c7ce732da3799a62b27b7c4eea4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20260924180944_e59344e0db34166f174a79bfcc29f9008bf62c7ce732da3799a62b27b7c4eea4" data-rendition-name="original" width="2400" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Sheen Mass"/><figcaption>Young massgoers attend the beatification Mass.<span>(Photo: Jeff Bruno for EWTN/National Catholic Register)</span><span>Jeffrey Bruno for EWTN/National Catholic Register/Catholic News Agency.</span></figcaption></figure>
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<p>The actual moment when Sheen became “Blessed” happened early in the proceedings, following the proclamation of a decree signed by Pope Leo XIV. As is customary at beatifications, the decree was read first in Latin by Cardinal Tagle, the Pope’s representative and the pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, and afterward in the vernacular — in this case English — by Bishop Louis Tylka of Peoria, Illinois, in whose diocese Sheen was born.</p>
<p>Immediately following the reading, a portrait of Blessed Sheen was revealed showing him with a halo, to thunderous applause. The same portrait was simultaneously unveiled at his tomb at the Cathedral St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria.</p>
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<p class="embed-block__description">A new image of Blessed Fulton Sheen is displayed after he is declared ‘Blessed’ at the Mass for his beatification on Sept. 24, 2026, at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis. | Jeffrey Bruno for EWTN/National Catholic Register</p>
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<p>Earlier in the day, Msgr. Jason Gray, executive director of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation, <a href="https://www.ncregister.com/cna/sheen-foundation-gathering-information-on-instantaneous-cancer-case-5-other-purported-miracles">announced</a> that six purported miracles are attributed to the intercession of Sheen as part of the process that could lead to his canonization. Any purported miracle attributed to Sheen’s intercession that has taken place since Pope Francis announced his beatification in July 2019 can count toward his eventual canonization, which typically requires a second miracle to move forward.</p>
<p>James Fulton Engstrom, recipient of the confirmed miracle that cleared the way for Sheen’s beatification, survived in spite of having spent 61 minutes without a heartbeat. The healthy 16-year-old presented a relic of Sheen’s jawbone during the beatification Mass today.</p>
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<figure><img src="https://publisher-ncreg.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/20260924180940_4163325aae0349b30caca32a20f0d1b45a64a6dfdb29f72d9265b59e809cd14e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20260924180940_4163325aae0349b30caca32a20f0d1b45a64a6dfdb29f72d9265b59e809cd14e" data-rendition-name="original" width="2400" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Miracle recipient James Fulton Engstrom"/><figcaption>Miracle recipient James Fulton Engstrom, in blue tie, stands next to the reliquary holding the mandible (jawbone) of Blessed Fulton Sheen during Mass on Sept. 24, 2026. He later carried the relic up to the stage where the Mass was celebrated.<span>(Photo: Jeff Bruno for EWTN/National Catholic Register)</span><span>Jeffrey Bruno for EWTN/National Catholic Register/Catholic News Agency.</span></figcaption></figure>
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<figure><img src="https://publisher-ncreg.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/20260924180940_20fe99ddc5097be43e3c4468bb890fcaf42c0f93aaedaeda9016348d5aa9e2b7.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20260924180940_20fe99ddc5097be43e3c4468bb890fcaf42c0f93aaedaeda9016348d5aa9e2b7" data-rendition-name="original" width="2400" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Sheen relic"/><figcaption>Close-up of the jawbone of Blessed Fulton Sheen during the beatification Mass.<span>(Photo: Jeff Bruno for EWTN/National Catholic Register)</span><span>Jeffrey Bruno for EWTN/National Catholic Register/Catholic News Agency.</span></figcaption></figure>
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<p>Catholics from all over the world hailed Sheen’s example as a highly creative and effective missionary, who used every means available to him to share the love of Christ.</p>
<p>Father Solomon Patrick Zaku, national director of The Pontifical Mission Societies in Nigeria, flew to the U.S. for his first-ever visit to the country to attend the beatification of Sheen, who previously served as The Pontifical Mission Societies’ national director for the U.S.</p>
<p>“While I was in the seminary, I read about his book and about his life, and I was somewhat touched by his life. One of the things I have learned from him is the Holy Hour, spending an hour daily, and that has been part of my daily routine, which has been my source of inspiration,” Father Zaku said. “As the national director of The Pontifical Mission Societies in Nigeria, [we] promote the [World] Mission Rosary, which Archbishop Fulton Sheen introduced. … I pray it daily.”</p>
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<br /><a href="https://www.ncregister.com/cna/archbishop-fulton-sheen-declared-blessed">Source link </a></p>
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Archbishop Fulton Sheen Declared ‘Blessed’| National Catholic Register
