A major relic of Blessed Fulton J. Sheen is displayed next to his official portrait at his beatification Mass Sept. 24 at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis.
By Anne Marie Amacher, Lindsay Steele and Dan Russo
The Catholic Messenger
(This is part 2 in a series.)
ST. LOUIS — Like a stone thrown into a pond, Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s beatification has had a spiritual ripple effect that began in the U.S. heartland and continues to spread across the globe.
Meghan Wilson and her husband, both from St. Joan of Arc Parish in Bettendorf, are among the local Catholics still feeling the impact weeks after the September 24 events in St. Louis, Missouri that drew tens of thousands.
“My husband and I are new to learning about (the archbishop), but in December we went for a day trip to Peoria,” she reflected. “We went to St. Mary’s Cathedral and got to pray at his tomb. Inspired by that day, we’d been looking forward to coming to St. Louis, since the beatification was announced. We took five of our children, ages 18 to 11, to St. Louis. The experience keeps hitting me in waves as I reflect more and see more photos and videos from the day on social media. The number of people participating still has me in awe. The venue did a nice job making you feel like you were in Peoria as video was linked up with what was going on in the cathedral simultaneously and there was imagery of the cathedral throughout the venue.”
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect in the Holy See’s Dicastery for Evangelization, presided at the Mass and gave the homily.
“(Blessed) Fulton Sheen had a huge influence on my faith life,” reflected Kelly Bush, also of St. Joan of Arc Parish. “I was asked to teach a high school class and part of it had to do with the history of communism. I did some research and found that a Catholic priest named Fulton Sheen was the person they said understood communism the best; that it didn’t jive at all with Catholicism or a concept of an all-loving God. I watched video after video of Fulton Sheen on YouTube for years. Over the course of that time, I began to resonate with his teachings on so many other things. The simplicity and purity of his teaching is incredibly attractive.”
The Wilsons and Bush were part of a bus trip organized by St. Mary Parish in Moline, Illinois.
“It was an honor to be among friends while witnessing his beatification,” said Bush. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I feel blessed to have been a part of it.”
Another group from the Together in Christ Parishes, a cluster of four Catholic communities from the southwestern part of the Davenport Diocese, also traveled together for the events. Joe and Becky Moran of St. Mary of the Assumption-West Point, were with this group. They had the unusual experience of seeing three milestones on Archbishop Sheen’s road to possible canonization.
“As we had attended the Masses at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Peoria when the documentation was sealed and sent to Rome to begin the cause, as well as when he was made Venerable, there was no question we would attend the Beatification Mass,” wrote the couple in a joint statement. “At the time of the first two Masses, we lived in Washington, Illinois and belonged to St. Patrick parish. After (picking up) Father Hai (Duc Dinh) in Keokuk, we prayed the Rosary together to begin our journey. … Being amongst all of the faithful who came together for such a monumental ceremony was a once in a lifetime experience.”
The Mass that day included about 1,600 men and women religious, 800 seminarians, 1,000 priests, 90 bishops and 250 deacons who gathered at The Dome at America’s Center.
“Watching the procession of the seminarians, priests (especially in the beautiful JMJ vestments), and bishops was awe inspiring,” recalled the couple. “Seeing 16-year-old James (Fulton Engstrom) given the honor to carry the relic, was definitely a highlight. The Mass was beautifully planned and executed. The number of families in attendance with young children sure gives proof that the Catholic Church is alive and well.”
Engstrom was revived as a baby after 61-minutes without a pulse. He suffered no ill effects, according to the medical investigation that accompanied the Church’s approval of this miracle attributed to Blessed Sheen’s intercession. A second miracle will be required before the archbishop can be declared a saint.
Father Bill Kneemiller, a retired priest for the Davenport Diocese, stopped to visit his sister in St. Charles, Missouri before heading to St. Louis to be part of one of the biggest Catholic processions in American history.
“I’ve never walked into an arena with 1,000 priests,” said Father Kneemiller. “Seeing that and seeing deacons and rows of bishops and a cardinal who could be a future pope, (the Mass) was just so overwhelmingly positive. It reminds me that in every age, it’s the saints who lead us to Jesus Christ because they reflect the love of Christ.”
The Church is actively investigating other claims of miracles involving the Illinois native who was born on a farm near El Paso.
“We are so blessed from having this experience,” wrote the Morans. “We will continue to pray for Blessed Sheen’s canonization. Maybe there will be a trip to Rome in our future.”
A short time after the beatification, on Sept. 26, Bishop Louis Tylka of the Peoria Diocese announced that a new parish will be established later this year that will be named after the famous archbishop. St. Mary Parish in El Paso, where the televangelist was baptized, and St. John in Benson will officially become Blessed Fulton Sheen Parish, the first parish named in his honor. The churches will maintain their current names, but the communities will unite into one.
