Religious Figure. He is known for many accomplishments including being an educator, author, radio and television apologist, and Archbishop. As an American Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church, he is well-known for his sermons and especially his work on television and radio.
Sheen was born in El Paso, Illinois, the oldest of four sons of Newton and Delia Sheen, who were of Irish descent. Though he was known as "Fulton J. Sheen," after his mother's maiden name, he was baptized "Peter John Sheen." After the family moved to nearby Peoria, Illinois, Sheen's first role in the Church was as an altar boy at St. Mary's Cathedral.
After earning high school valedictorian honors at Spalding Institute in Peoria in 1913, Sheen was educated at St. Viator College in Bourbonnais, Illinois, and attended Saint Paul Seminary in Minnesota before his ordination on September 20, 1919. He continued studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
Sheen completed a pair of doctoral degrees. He became fluent in French, and earned a Doctor of Philosophy at the Catholic University of Leuven (Louvain) in Belgium in 1923. In 1924, he pursued further studies in Rome, earning a Sacred Theology Doctorate at the Pontificium Collegium Internationale Angelicum. Sheen taught philosophy at the Catholic University of America until 1950.
He was consecrated Bishop on June 11, 1951, and served as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of New York from 1951 to 1966.
In 1930, he began a weekly NBC Sunday night radio broadcast. Two decades later, the broadcast had a weekly listening audience of four million people. On February 12, 1952, he began a weekly television program on the DuMont Television Network, titled "Life Is Worth Living." Filmed in New York City, the program consisted of the unpaid Sheen simply speaking in front of a live audience without a script or cue cards, using a chalkboard. The show, scheduled in a prime-time slot on Tuesday nights at 8:00 p.m., was not expected to challenge the ratings giants Milton Berle and Frank Sinatra, but did surprisingly well. Berle, known to many early television viewers as "Uncle Miltie" and for using ancient vaudeville material, joked about Sheen, "He uses old material, too." Sheen responded in jest that maybe people should start calling him "Uncle Fultie." The number of stations carrying "Life Is Worth Living" jumped from three to fifteen in less than two months. Fan mail flowed in at a rate of 8,500 letters per week. In 1952, Sheen received an Emmy Award for his efforts, accepting the acknowledgment by saying, "I feel it is time I pay tribute to my four writers – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John." The show ran until 1957, drawing as many as 30 million people weekly.
In 1958, Sheen became National Director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, serving for eight years before being appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Rochester, New York, on October 26, 1966. He also hosted a nationally syndicated series, "The Fulton Sheen Program," from 1961 to 1968. The format of this series was essentially the same as "Life Is Worth Living." For this work, Sheen twice received an Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Television Personality. Starting in 2009, his shows were rebroadcast on the EWTN and the Trinity Broadcasting cable networks.
Sheen was credited with helping convert a number of notable figures to the Catholic faith, including agnostic writer Heywood Broun, politician Clare Boothe Luce, automaker Henry Ford II, Communist writer Louis F. Budenz, Communist organizer Bella Dodd, violinist and composer Fritz Kreisler, and actress Virginia Mayo. Each conversion process took an average of 25 hours of lessons; reportedly more than 95% of his students taking private instruction were baptized.
On October 15, 1969, one month after celebrating his 50th anniversary as a priest, Sheen resigned from his Rochester position. He was then appointed Archbishop of the titular See of Newport, Wales, by Pope Paul VI. This ceremonial position gave him a promotion to Archbishop and helped him continue his extensive writing. Sheen wrote 73 books and numerous articles and columns.
On October 2, 1979, two months before Sheen's death, Pope John Paul II visited St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City and embraced Sheen, saying, "You have written and spoken well of the Lord Jesus Christ. You are a loyal son of the Church." Beginning in 1977, Sheen underwent a series of surgeries that sapped his strength, thus making delivering a sermon a difficult task. Throughout this time, he continued to work on his autobiography, parts of which were recited from his sickbed as he clutched a crucifix. Soon after an open-heart surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital, Sheen died on December 9, 1979, in his private chapel while praying before the Blessed Sacrament. Throughout his life, Sheen had made a daily Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament.
He was interred in the crypt of St. Patrick's Cathedral near the deceased Archbishops of New York. The Fulton J. Sheen Museum, operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria and located in Peoria, houses the largest set of Sheen's personal items in five collections. Another museum is located in Sheen's hometown of El Paso, Illinois. The Sheen Center for Thought and Culture, located along Bleecker Street in Lower Manhattan, is named after him. The actor Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez adopted the stage name of Martin Sheen partly in admiration of the Bishop.
In 2002, Sheen's Cause for Canonization was officially opened by Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, C.S.C., Bishop of the Diocese of Peoria, and from then on, Sheen was referred to as a "Servant of God." In 2009, the diocesan phase of the investigation came to an end, and the records were sent to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints at the Vatican. On June 28, 2012, the Vatican announced officially that it had recognized Sheen's life as one of "heroic virtue." From then on, Sheen was titled "Venerable." In September of 2014, it was announced that the canonization cause would be suspended due to a disagreement with the Archdiocese of New York concerning the return of Sheen's remains to the Diocese of Peoria. In a press release on June 14, 2016, it was announced that Sheen's surviving family petitioned the New York Supreme Court to allow the transfer of Sheen's remains to Peoria. After several years of legal procedures, the Archdiocese of New York announced on June 9, 2019, that they were relinquishing the dispute to keep Sheen's remains at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. On June 27, 2019, the remains were transferred to St. Mary's Cathedral in Peoria. On July 6, 2019, the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints promulgated the decree approving Sheen's miracle needed for beatification. The miracle involves the unexplained recovery of James Fulton Engstrom, a stillborn, in September of 2010, to Bonnie and Travis Engstrom of the Peoria-area town of Goodfield. Engstrom's parents prayed for the intercession of Sheen for their son's recovery. The infant had no heartbeat for 61 minutes, was given CPR, and recovered to mature into a normal little boy. Pope Francis approved the miracle. As of 2023, the Vatican has not announced when the beatification will move ahead. He has a cenotaph in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Rochester, New York.
Sheen was born in El Paso, Illinois, the oldest of four sons of Newton and Delia Sheen, who were of Irish descent. Though he was known as "Fulton J. Sheen," after his mother's maiden name, he was baptized "Peter John Sheen." After the family moved to nearby Peoria, Illinois, Sheen's first role in the Church was as an altar boy at St. Mary's Cathedral.
After earning high school valedictorian honors at Spalding Institute in Peoria in 1913, Sheen was educated at St. Viator College in Bourbonnais, Illinois, and attended Saint Paul Seminary in Minnesota before his ordination on September 20, 1919. He continued studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
Sheen completed a pair of doctoral degrees. He became fluent in French, and earned a Doctor of Philosophy at the Catholic University of Leuven (Louvain) in Belgium in 1923. In 1924, he pursued further studies in Rome, earning a Sacred Theology Doctorate at the Pontificium Collegium Internationale Angelicum. Sheen taught philosophy at the Catholic University of America until 1950.
He was consecrated Bishop on June 11, 1951, and served as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of New York from 1951 to 1966.
In 1930, he began a weekly NBC Sunday night radio broadcast. Two decades later, the broadcast had a weekly listening audience of four million people. On February 12, 1952, he began a weekly television program on the DuMont Television Network, titled "Life Is Worth Living." Filmed in New York City, the program consisted of the unpaid Sheen simply speaking in front of a live audience without a script or cue cards, using a chalkboard. The show, scheduled in a prime-time slot on Tuesday nights at 8:00 p.m., was not expected to challenge the ratings giants Milton Berle and Frank Sinatra, but did surprisingly well. Berle, known to many early television viewers as "Uncle Miltie" and for using ancient vaudeville material, joked about Sheen, "He uses old material, too." Sheen responded in jest that maybe people should start calling him "Uncle Fultie." The number of stations carrying "Life Is Worth Living" jumped from three to fifteen in less than two months. Fan mail flowed in at a rate of 8,500 letters per week. In 1952, Sheen received an Emmy Award for his efforts, accepting the acknowledgment by saying, "I feel it is time I pay tribute to my four writers – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John." The show ran until 1957, drawing as many as 30 million people weekly.
In 1958, Sheen became National Director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, serving for eight years before being appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Rochester, New York, on October 26, 1966. He also hosted a nationally syndicated series, "The Fulton Sheen Program," from 1961 to 1968. The format of this series was essentially the same as "Life Is Worth Living." For this work, Sheen twice received an Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Television Personality. Starting in 2009, his shows were rebroadcast on the EWTN and the Trinity Broadcasting cable networks.
Sheen was credited with helping convert a number of notable figures to the Catholic faith, including agnostic writer Heywood Broun, politician Clare Boothe Luce, automaker Henry Ford II, Communist writer Louis F. Budenz, Communist organizer Bella Dodd, violinist and composer Fritz Kreisler, and actress Virginia Mayo. Each conversion process took an average of 25 hours of lessons; reportedly more than 95% of his students taking private instruction were baptized.
On October 15, 1969, one month after celebrating his 50th anniversary as a priest, Sheen resigned from his Rochester position. He was then appointed Archbishop of the titular See of Newport, Wales, by Pope Paul VI. This ceremonial position gave him a promotion to Archbishop and helped him continue his extensive writing. Sheen wrote 73 books and numerous articles and columns.
On October 2, 1979, two months before Sheen's death, Pope John Paul II visited St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City and embraced Sheen, saying, "You have written and spoken well of the Lord Jesus Christ. You are a loyal son of the Church." Beginning in 1977, Sheen underwent a series of surgeries that sapped his strength, thus making delivering a sermon a difficult task. Throughout this time, he continued to work on his autobiography, parts of which were recited from his sickbed as he clutched a crucifix. Soon after an open-heart surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital, Sheen died on December 9, 1979, in his private chapel while praying before the Blessed Sacrament. Throughout his life, Sheen had made a daily Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament.
He was interred in the crypt of St. Patrick's Cathedral near the deceased Archbishops of New York. The Fulton J. Sheen Museum, operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria and located in Peoria, houses the largest set of Sheen's personal items in five collections. Another museum is located in Sheen's hometown of El Paso, Illinois. The Sheen Center for Thought and Culture, located along Bleecker Street in Lower Manhattan, is named after him. The actor Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez adopted the stage name of Martin Sheen partly in admiration of the Bishop.
In 2002, Sheen's Cause for Canonization was officially opened by Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, C.S.C., Bishop of the Diocese of Peoria, and from then on, Sheen was referred to as a "Servant of God." In 2009, the diocesan phase of the investigation came to an end, and the records were sent to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints at the Vatican. On June 28, 2012, the Vatican announced officially that it had recognized Sheen's life as one of "heroic virtue." From then on, Sheen was titled "Venerable." In September of 2014, it was announced that the canonization cause would be suspended due to a disagreement with the Archdiocese of New York concerning the return of Sheen's remains to the Diocese of Peoria. In a press release on June 14, 2016, it was announced that Sheen's surviving family petitioned the New York Supreme Court to allow the transfer of Sheen's remains to Peoria. After several years of legal procedures, the Archdiocese of New York announced on June 9, 2019, that they were relinquishing the dispute to keep Sheen's remains at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. On June 27, 2019, the remains were transferred to St. Mary's Cathedral in Peoria. On July 6, 2019, the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints promulgated the decree approving Sheen's miracle needed for beatification. The miracle involves the unexplained recovery of James Fulton Engstrom, a stillborn, in September of 2010, to Bonnie and Travis Engstrom of the Peoria-area town of Goodfield. Engstrom's parents prayed for the intercession of Sheen for their son's recovery. The infant had no heartbeat for 61 minutes, was given CPR, and recovered to mature into a normal little boy. Pope Francis approved the miracle. As of 2023, the Vatican has not announced when the beatification will move ahead. He has a cenotaph in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Rochester, New York.
Religious Figure. He is known for many accomplishments including being an educator, author, radio and television apologist, and Archbishop. As an American Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church, he is well-known for his sermons and especially his work on television and radio.
Sheen was born in El Paso, Illinois, the oldest of four sons of Newton and Delia Sheen, who were of Irish descent. Though he was known as "Fulton J. Sheen," after his mother's maiden name, he was baptized "Peter John Sheen." After the family moved to nearby Peoria, Illinois, Sheen's first role in the Church was as an altar boy at St. Mary's Cathedral.
After earning high school valedictorian honors at Spalding Institute in Peoria in 1913, Sheen was educated at St. Viator College in Bourbonnais, Illinois, and attended Saint Paul Seminary in Minnesota before his ordination on September 20, 1919. He continued studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
Sheen completed a pair of doctoral degrees. He became fluent in French, and earned a Doctor of Philosophy at the Catholic University of Leuven (Louvain) in Belgium in 1923. In 1924, he pursued further studies in Rome, earning a Sacred Theology Doctorate at the Pontificium Collegium Internationale Angelicum. Sheen taught philosophy at the Catholic University of America until 1950.
He was consecrated Bishop on June 11, 1951, and served as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of New York from 1951 to 1966.
In 1930, he began a weekly NBC Sunday night radio broadcast. Two decades later, the broadcast had a weekly listening audience of four million people. On February 12, 1952, he began a weekly television program on the DuMont Television Network, titled "Life Is Worth Living." Filmed in New York City, the program consisted of the unpaid Sheen simply speaking in front of a live audience without a script or cue cards, using a chalkboard. The show, scheduled in a prime-time slot on Tuesday nights at 8:00 p.m., was not expected to challenge the ratings giants Milton Berle and Frank Sinatra, but did surprisingly well. Berle, known to many early television viewers as "Uncle Miltie" and for using ancient vaudeville material, joked about Sheen, "He uses old material, too." Sheen responded in jest that maybe people should start calling him "Uncle Fultie." The number of stations carrying "Life Is Worth Living" jumped from three to fifteen in less than two months. Fan mail flowed in at a rate of 8,500 letters per week. In 1952, Sheen received an Emmy Award for his efforts, accepting the acknowledgment by saying, "I feel it is time I pay tribute to my four writers – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John." The show ran until 1957, drawing as many as 30 million people weekly.
In 1958, Sheen became National Director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, serving for eight years before being appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Rochester, New York, on October 26, 1966. He also hosted a nationally syndicated series, "The Fulton Sheen Program," from 1961 to 1968. The format of this series was essentially the same as "Life Is Worth Living." For this work, Sheen twice received an Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Television Personality. Starting in 2009, his shows were rebroadcast on the EWTN and the Trinity Broadcasting cable networks.
Sheen was credited with helping convert a number of notable figures to the Catholic faith, including agnostic writer Heywood Broun, politician Clare Boothe Luce, automaker Henry Ford II, Communist writer Louis F. Budenz, Communist organizer Bella Dodd, violinist and composer Fritz Kreisler, and actress Virginia Mayo. Each conversion process took an average of 25 hours of lessons; reportedly more than 95% of his students taking private instruction were baptized.
On October 15, 1969, one month after celebrating his 50th anniversary as a priest, Sheen resigned from his Rochester position. He was then appointed Archbishop of the titular See of Newport, Wales, by Pope Paul VI. This ceremonial position gave him a promotion to Archbishop and helped him continue his extensive writing. Sheen wrote 73 books and numerous articles and columns.
On October 2, 1979, two months before Sheen's death, Pope John Paul II visited St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City and embraced Sheen, saying, "You have written and spoken well of the Lord Jesus Christ. You are a loyal son of the Church." Beginning in 1977, Sheen underwent a series of surgeries that sapped his strength, thus making delivering a sermon a difficult task. Throughout this time, he continued to work on his autobiography, parts of which were recited from his sickbed as he clutched a crucifix. Soon after an open-heart surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital, Sheen died on December 9, 1979, in his private chapel while praying before the Blessed Sacrament. Throughout his life, Sheen had made a daily Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament.
He was interred in the crypt of St. Patrick's Cathedral near the deceased Archbishops of New York. The Fulton J. Sheen Museum, operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria and located in Peoria, houses the largest set of Sheen's personal items in five collections. Another museum is located in Sheen's hometown of El Paso, Illinois. The Sheen Center for Thought and Culture, located along Bleecker Street in Lower Manhattan, is named after him. The actor Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez adopted the stage name of Martin Sheen partly in admiration of the Bishop.
In 2002, Sheen's Cause for Canonization was officially opened by Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, C.S.C., Bishop of the Diocese of Peoria, and from then on, Sheen was referred to as a "Servant of God." In 2009, the diocesan phase of the investigation came to an end, and the records were sent to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints at the Vatican. On June 28, 2012, the Vatican announced officially that it had recognized Sheen's life as one of "heroic virtue." From then on, Sheen was titled "Venerable." In September of 2014, it was announced that the canonization cause would be suspended due to a disagreement with the Archdiocese of New York concerning the return of Sheen's remains to the Diocese of Peoria. In a press release on June 14, 2016, it was announced that Sheen's surviving family petitioned the New York Supreme Court to allow the transfer of Sheen's remains to Peoria. After several years of legal procedures, the Archdiocese of New York announced on June 9, 2019, that they were relinquishing the dispute to keep Sheen's remains at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. On June 27, 2019, the remains were transferred to St. Mary's Cathedral in Peoria. On July 6, 2019, the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints promulgated the decree approving Sheen's miracle needed for beatification. The miracle involves the unexplained recovery of James Fulton Engstrom, a stillborn, in September of 2010, to Bonnie and Travis Engstrom of the Peoria-area town of Goodfield. Engstrom's parents prayed for the intercession of Sheen for their son's recovery. The infant had no heartbeat for 61 minutes, was given CPR, and recovered to mature into a normal little boy. Pope Francis approved the miracle. As of 2023, the Vatican has not announced when the beatification will move ahead. He has a cenotaph in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Rochester, New York.
Sheen was born in El Paso, Illinois, the oldest of four sons of Newton and Delia Sheen, who were of Irish descent. Though he was known as "Fulton J. Sheen," after his mother's maiden name, he was baptized "Peter John Sheen." After the family moved to nearby Peoria, Illinois, Sheen's first role in the Church was as an altar boy at St. Mary's Cathedral.
After earning high school valedictorian honors at Spalding Institute in Peoria in 1913, Sheen was educated at St. Viator College in Bourbonnais, Illinois, and attended Saint Paul Seminary in Minnesota before his ordination on September 20, 1919. He continued studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
Sheen completed a pair of doctoral degrees. He became fluent in French, and earned a Doctor of Philosophy at the Catholic University of Leuven (Louvain) in Belgium in 1923. In 1924, he pursued further studies in Rome, earning a Sacred Theology Doctorate at the Pontificium Collegium Internationale Angelicum. Sheen taught philosophy at the Catholic University of America until 1950.
He was consecrated Bishop on June 11, 1951, and served as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of New York from 1951 to 1966.
In 1930, he began a weekly NBC Sunday night radio broadcast. Two decades later, the broadcast had a weekly listening audience of four million people. On February 12, 1952, he began a weekly television program on the DuMont Television Network, titled "Life Is Worth Living." Filmed in New York City, the program consisted of the unpaid Sheen simply speaking in front of a live audience without a script or cue cards, using a chalkboard. The show, scheduled in a prime-time slot on Tuesday nights at 8:00 p.m., was not expected to challenge the ratings giants Milton Berle and Frank Sinatra, but did surprisingly well. Berle, known to many early television viewers as "Uncle Miltie" and for using ancient vaudeville material, joked about Sheen, "He uses old material, too." Sheen responded in jest that maybe people should start calling him "Uncle Fultie." The number of stations carrying "Life Is Worth Living" jumped from three to fifteen in less than two months. Fan mail flowed in at a rate of 8,500 letters per week. In 1952, Sheen received an Emmy Award for his efforts, accepting the acknowledgment by saying, "I feel it is time I pay tribute to my four writers – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John." The show ran until 1957, drawing as many as 30 million people weekly.
In 1958, Sheen became National Director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, serving for eight years before being appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Rochester, New York, on October 26, 1966. He also hosted a nationally syndicated series, "The Fulton Sheen Program," from 1961 to 1968. The format of this series was essentially the same as "Life Is Worth Living." For this work, Sheen twice received an Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Television Personality. Starting in 2009, his shows were rebroadcast on the EWTN and the Trinity Broadcasting cable networks.
Sheen was credited with helping convert a number of notable figures to the Catholic faith, including agnostic writer Heywood Broun, politician Clare Boothe Luce, automaker Henry Ford II, Communist writer Louis F. Budenz, Communist organizer Bella Dodd, violinist and composer Fritz Kreisler, and actress Virginia Mayo. Each conversion process took an average of 25 hours of lessons; reportedly more than 95% of his students taking private instruction were baptized.
On October 15, 1969, one month after celebrating his 50th anniversary as a priest, Sheen resigned from his Rochester position. He was then appointed Archbishop of the titular See of Newport, Wales, by Pope Paul VI. This ceremonial position gave him a promotion to Archbishop and helped him continue his extensive writing. Sheen wrote 73 books and numerous articles and columns.
On October 2, 1979, two months before Sheen's death, Pope John Paul II visited St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City and embraced Sheen, saying, "You have written and spoken well of the Lord Jesus Christ. You are a loyal son of the Church." Beginning in 1977, Sheen underwent a series of surgeries that sapped his strength, thus making delivering a sermon a difficult task. Throughout this time, he continued to work on his autobiography, parts of which were recited from his sickbed as he clutched a crucifix. Soon after an open-heart surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital, Sheen died on December 9, 1979, in his private chapel while praying before the Blessed Sacrament. Throughout his life, Sheen had made a daily Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament.
He was interred in the crypt of St. Patrick's Cathedral near the deceased Archbishops of New York. The Fulton J. Sheen Museum, operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria and located in Peoria, houses the largest set of Sheen's personal items in five collections. Another museum is located in Sheen's hometown of El Paso, Illinois. The Sheen Center for Thought and Culture, located along Bleecker Street in Lower Manhattan, is named after him. The actor Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez adopted the stage name of Martin Sheen partly in admiration of the Bishop.
In 2002, Sheen's Cause for Canonization was officially opened by Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, C.S.C., Bishop of the Diocese of Peoria, and from then on, Sheen was referred to as a "Servant of God." In 2009, the diocesan phase of the investigation came to an end, and the records were sent to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints at the Vatican. On June 28, 2012, the Vatican announced officially that it had recognized Sheen's life as one of "heroic virtue." From then on, Sheen was titled "Venerable." In September of 2014, it was announced that the canonization cause would be suspended due to a disagreement with the Archdiocese of New York concerning the return of Sheen's remains to the Diocese of Peoria. In a press release on June 14, 2016, it was announced that Sheen's surviving family petitioned the New York Supreme Court to allow the transfer of Sheen's remains to Peoria. After several years of legal procedures, the Archdiocese of New York announced on June 9, 2019, that they were relinquishing the dispute to keep Sheen's remains at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. On June 27, 2019, the remains were transferred to St. Mary's Cathedral in Peoria. On July 6, 2019, the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints promulgated the decree approving Sheen's miracle needed for beatification. The miracle involves the unexplained recovery of James Fulton Engstrom, a stillborn, in September of 2010, to Bonnie and Travis Engstrom of the Peoria-area town of Goodfield. Engstrom's parents prayed for the intercession of Sheen for their son's recovery. The infant had no heartbeat for 61 minutes, was given CPR, and recovered to mature into a normal little boy. Pope Francis approved the miracle. As of 2023, the Vatican has not announced when the beatification will move ahead. He has a cenotaph in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Rochester, New York.
Bio by: Angela
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