Venerable Fulton Sheen to be beatified in St. Louis on 24 September

Vatican, March 26, 2026: The late American Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen will be beatified during a Mass to be presided over by Luis Antonio Tagle on September 24, 2026, in St. Louis, Missouri, as confirmed by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.

Venerable Fulton J. Sheen of the United States is scheduled to be beatified on Thursday, September 24, 2026, in St. Louis, Missouri.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, will preside over the beatification Mass on behalf of Pope Leo XIV.

(Also Read: 7 Must-Read Books by Fulton Sheen Before His Beatification)

Following the recognition of his heroic virtue, Fulton Sheen was declared Venerable in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI. In 2019, Pope Francis approved a decree acknowledging a miracle attributed to his intercession.

This approval paved the way for Archbishop Sheen’s beatification, after which he will bear the title "Blessed."

The future Blessed Fulton Sheen was widely recognised for his compelling preaching, particularly through television and radio.

Born into an Irish family in El Paso, Illinois, on May 8, 1895, Sheen discerned his vocation to the priesthood at the age of 24 and was ordained in 1919.

He undertook advanced studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington (US), the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium), and the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.

He returned to the United States in 1926 and began teaching at the Catholic University of America, a role he held until 1950. Sheen served as the Bishop of Rochester, New York, from 1951 to 1969, and was later appointed Titular Archbishop of Newport, Wales, in 1969 by Pope Paul VI.

A talented educator and speaker, Sheen’s homilies were highly regarded. In 1930, he began taking part in the Sunday radio programme entitled “The Catholic Hour," which reached an estimated four million listeners at its peak.

In 1951, he started hosting a weekly television series, “Life is Worth Living," focusing on matters of faith, which drew around 30 million viewers.

He passed away in New York at the age of 84, on December 9, 1979.

Courtesy: Vatican News