Tens of thousands attend beatification of anti-communist TV star priest Fulton Sheen

A popular radio and television priest was beatified in a Mass Thursday in St. Louis, Missouri, that was attended by tens of thousands of Catholic believers.

Fulton Sheen was a Roman Catholic priest who grew to massive popularity on radio and television as a promulgator of Catholic doctrine in the 1950s and ’60s.

‘Archbishop Sheen was a beacon of faith, hope, and love who shone through radio and television for decades.’

He is considered the first television evangelist and is credited with helping pave the way for the election of John F. Kennedy, the first Catholic president of the United States.

Organizers at the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation and the diocese said that about 48,000 tickets had been distributed for the ceremony at the Dome at America’s Center. The ceremony had been delayed for years after organizers found there was not a venue large enough in Sheen’s home diocese of Peoria, Illinois, to accommodate those wishing to attend.

Beatification is the last step before sainthood. His official title is now Blessed Fulton Sheen.

Sheen had gained popularity as a radio priest and went on to gain even more prominence with his television show, “Life Is Worth Living.” Standing at a chalkboard while addressing moral and religious issues of the day, Sheen inspired millions, including the man who would later become Pope Leo XIV.

“Archbishop Sheen was a beacon of faith, hope, and love who shone through radio and television for decades,” said Pope Leo in a speech in June. “I myself witnessed his evangelization efforts as I was growing up.”

Sheen graced the cover of Time, met with popes, and traveled the world on behalf of Catholic missions.

He died at the age of 84 in 1979.

In most cases, in order to be considered for beatification and sainthood, the Catholic Church requires documentation of a miracle made by the candidate’s intercession. In 2010, the family of an infant born without a pulse prayed to Sheen for healing, and the baby was resuscitated.

“I remember sitting on my bedroom floor and watching them do CPR and in my head repeating over and over and over again, ‘Fulton Sheen, Fulton Sheen, Fulton Sheen, Fulton Sheen,'” recalled Bonnie Engstrom, the baby’s mother.

That family was present at the beatification Mass along with the child, who is now a teenager named James Fulton Engstrom. They presented relics of the priest.

The beatification was delayed for a time so that the Diocese of Rochester could investigate allegations that Sheen had any complicity in clerical sex abuse, but the church confirmed he was innocent.

Pope Leo XIV approved Sheen’s beatification earlier in the year.

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“May the example and the intercession of this holy bishop, known for his evangelizing work through the media, inspire many others likewise to find new ways of spreading the gospel message with joyful enthusiasm,” said Pope Leo on Wednesday ahead of the ceremony.

Sheen was also known for his philosophical and theological arguments against the tenets of communism and materialism during the Cold War.

Sheen won an Emmy for his television show, and during his acceptance speech he thanked his four writers — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

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