61 Minutes Without a Heartbeat: The Miracle Behind Fulton Sheen’s Beatification

Sep 22, 2026: When James Fulton Engstrom was born in Illinois in 2010, he showed no signs of life. What followed would become the central miracle in the cause for the beatification of Venerable Fulton J. Sheen.

James was born at home on 16 September 2010. His mother, Bonnie Engstrom, had developed a devotion to Sheen during her pregnancy and had regularly asked for his intercession. The child was born without a pulse or respiration, and resuscitation efforts began immediately. He was taken to hospital as medical personnel continued attempting to revive him.

According to the documentation submitted in the cause, James remained without a heartbeat or spontaneous respiration for 61 minutes. Just as medical personnel were preparing to declare him dead, a heartbeat was detected and his heart rate returned to a normal level. He began breathing and subsequently received further treatment in hospital.

The family attributed the child's recovery to the intercession of Fulton Sheen. Bonnie had specifically sought Sheen's prayers throughout her pregnancy and, during the emergency, continued to ask for his intercession. The family later named the child James Fulton in his honour.

The case then underwent a formal investigation rather than being accepted simply on the basis of the family's account. The diocesan inquiry into the alleged miracle was completed on 11 December 2011. The evidence was subsequently examined by experts associated with the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

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In March 2014, the medical experts examining the case unanimously concluded that the child's survival was beyond scientific explanation. They also noted that he had survived without cognitive or developmental impairment. In June that year, the theological commission unanimously concluded that the event was attributable to the intercession of Fulton Sheen.

The case then proceeded through the remaining stages of the Church's investigation. Bishops and cardinals of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints also approved the case, and on 6 July 2019, Pope Francis authorised the decree recognising the miracle attributed to Fulton Sheen's intercession.

The recognition was significant because Fulton Sheen, who had already been declared Venerable in 2012 after the Church recognised his heroic virtues, required a recognised miracle for his beatification. For a non-martyr, the Church ordinarily requires such a miracle attributed to the candidate's intercession before beatification.

The Church's recognition of the Engstrom case therefore did not rest simply on the extraordinary circumstances of the child's birth. It followed a lengthy process involving medical examination, theological assessment and review by Church authorities.

The Church’s recognition of the case was not a declaration that Fulton Sheen himself performed the miracle. Rather, the miracle was attributed to his intercession, with God recognised as the source of the healing. The recognition of this miracle marked an important step in Sheen’s journey towards beatification and, ultimately, possible canonisation, as the Church continues to examine his life, virtues and intercession in the process of sainthood.

By Catholic Connect Reporter