Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, an El Paso native who attended high school in Peoria, is receiving attention from the worldwide Catholic church. Sheen, who was also ordained and served in Peoria, will be beatified at a mass on Sept. 24 in St. Louis.
Beatification is the penultimate step to being canonized by the Pope and becoming recognized as a saint. Sheen, who died in 1979, became widely known as one of the first users of media on a grand scale. He hosted a radio show, The Catholic Hour, from 1930-1950, and then hosted A Life Worth Living on television from 1952-1957, earning an Emmy Award for his efforts. Sheen's show had an estimated 30 million viewers each week.
"In 2002, my predecessor, Bishop Daniel Jenky, opened the cause for canonization for Archbishop Fulton Sheen," said Bishop Louis Tylka of the Peoria Diocese in an interview for WCBU Reports.
It was initially believed that Sheen's beatification would take place in 2019, but it was halted due to controversy about Sheen's time as Bishop in Rochester, New York. The Diocese of Rochester also declared bankruptcy, so the plan for beatification was put on hold.
Earlier this year, it was decided to move forward and the Vatican announced the beatification Mass would be held on Sept. 24, presided over by Cardinal Luis Antonio Cagle. After the Mass, work continues on verifying a second miracle tied to Sheen's intercession, which would lead to his canonization.
Tylka moved the mass to St. Louis due to widespread interest.
"Normally, a beatification is done in the local diocese, but Sheen is not just for Peoria, but for the world and that is why we moved the mass to St. Louis," said Tylka, noting an estimated 50,000 people are expected to attend the event.
The Diocese of Peoria will inaugurate an annual event, the Sheen Awards, on Sept. 25 in Peoria, with many special guests, including actor Jonathan Roumie, who portrays Jesus on the television show The Chosen.
Plans continue as well on a Sheen Museum called the Sheen Experience, which is being built in the former Spalding High School in Downtown Peoria that Sheen attended and graduated from in 1913. Plans include an extensive amount of Sheen-related items and artifacts and a virtual hologram-type experience where visitors can experience and see Sheen and hear his own words.
