50,000 join in declaring ‘America’s Bishop’ blessed
SCROLL THE ARROWS to see more photos
CLICK HERE to read a related story.
CLICK HERE to read another related story.
Blessed Bishop Fulton J. Sheen’s voice was a warm and reassuring presence for Carol Fick and her siblings.
“I was one of eight children, and we grew up in a very, very old house on a farm in Bonnots Mill,” she said. “We had one car, and Dad took it to work, so Mom was there with all of us kids, every single day.”
One place her mother never failed to turn for peace and inspiration was Bishop Sheen’s weekly national radio show, “The Catholic Hour.”
“I can still hear his voice,” said Mrs. Fick, who’s now a member of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Columbia.
“He was very inspiring to Mom,” she said. “Whenever I hear some of those recordings, it takes me back to when I was a child.”
Mrs. Fick and her husband Tom were among the scores of people from all over the Jefferson City diocese who traveled to St. Louis on Sept. 24 for Bishop Sheen’s Beatification Mass in the Dome at America’s Center.
Bishop Sheen (1895-1979) (www.celebratesheen.com) was a prolific American Catholic author, preacher, evangelizer and promoter of international missions.
His witty and inspiring prime-time radio and television messages made him a household name among millions of Americans — Catholic and non-Catholic — from the 1930s through the ‘60s.
At the direction of Pope Leo XIV, the Peoria, Illinois, native was officially declared Blessed during the Mass in St. Louis, one step from being formally recognized as a saint.
The Mass and the rest of the daylong celebration drew about 50,000 people, including about 1,000 priests, nearly 100 bishops, 850 seminarians, 850 professed religious and 250 deacons.
The elaborate entrance procession alone lasted about 40 minutes.
Presenting the relics of the newly beatified prelate was James Fulton Engstrom, who in 2010 survived for 61 minutes without a heartbeat or pulse at the time of his birth.
His parents prayed for Bishop Sheen to intercede for him. God, in turn, honored his servant by granting a miraculous healing, and the baby’s heart started beating.
That miracle, having been rigorously authenticated, was the final thing needed for Bishop Sheen to be declared Blessed.
Cardinal Luis Antonino Tagle presided at the Mass and preached the homily as Pope Leo XIV’s delegate.
Cardinal Tagle serves as a pro-prefect in the Holy See’s Dicastery for Evangelization, leading its Section for the First Evangelization and New Particular Churches, and is the archbishop emeritus of his native Manila, Philippines.
Bishop Sheen has been referred to as “America’s Bishop.” His rural upbringing, keen intellect, steadfast faith and innovative, accessible approach to preaching and teaching made him universally recognizable and relatable.
“I’m sure Mom’s very happy tonight in heaven,” said Mrs. Fick. “And I’m so glad my husband and I get to be here to experience this together.”
Communion of Saints
Jean Gallagher, a member of St. Vincent de Paul Parish of Pettis County, organized a bus trip to the Beatification.
“There were so many priests, I thought the line would never end,” she said.
She overheard people speaking in several languages.
Stephany Barkofsky, a member of Holy Rosary Parish in Clinton in the Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese, rode the bus with friends from Columbia.
Attending the first beatification of an American-born bishop was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for her.
“We didn’t have to go all the way to Rome for this,” she noted. “We did it right here in our backyard.”
Mrs. Barkofsky has “binge-watched” every Fulton Sheen video she could find on YouTube.
Her favorite meditations are from Lent, including Jesus’s Seven Words from the Cross.
“Bishop Sheen was before my time,” said Mrs. Barkofsky. “Being a cradle Catholic, I’ve known about him, but only as an adult did I actually start to listen. The advent of YouTube has allowed us to experience him again.”
Even before stepping out of the bus for Mass, Mrs. Barkofsky noticed religious sisters from numerous orders and congregations, wearing different habits.
“My first view was of one of Mother Theresa’s Missionaries of Charity nuns, and my heart just got so excited,” she said. “Some sisters were wearing colors I’d never even seen before.”
She found the number of priests at the Mass to be breathtaking, and the music to be incredible.
“I had no idea there was going to be an orchestra,” she said. “And listening to it, you have to believe that they’re hearing it in heaven, too.”
She felt surrounded by saintly and holy people in the Communion of Saints.
“We got to be part of that gathering of holy people,” she said. “And we shared in that amazing delight and love of our Lord.”
Also traveling aboard the bus from Sedalia and Columbia was Irene Ostrowski, a member of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Columbia.
“The whole Mass was amazing,” she said. “The crowd was a little overwhelming, but it was beautiful. I really enjoyed it.”
She knew that Bishop Sheen was great at evangelizing, something she doesn’t get much opportunity to do herself. But she is determined to help support evangelization in any way she can.
She feels a lasting bond to Blessed Sheen.
“I thank God for getting me here,” she said. “It’s been such a beautiful experience. I’m so glad I was able to be a part of something like this.”
A precious gift
Doris Schmidt, also a parishioner at Our Lady of Lourdes said she couldn’t listen to enough of the choir and orchestral music.
“It was fabulous. Fabulous!” she said.
She was also amazed at the number of priests, seminarians and bishops who attended.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Mrs. Schmidt. “Our Catholic Church is growing, and I praise God, the Creator of everything, for that.”
Having learned more about Blessed Sheen, she’s convinced that God wants her to follow his example and spend more time in prayer and Adoration.
Kennedy Siebert, a junior at Fr. Tolton Regional Catholic High School in Columbia, went to the Beatification with 11 others from her school.
A highlight for her was adoring Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament, with thousands of others in the chapel before Mass.
“Even with that many people in one room, you could still hear a pin drop,” she said. “Walking into that section of the venue, I felt the Holy Spirit present within me.”
The Mass itself was different from anything she’d ever experienced.
“In school, we talk about the how Catholicism is the Universal Church,” she said. “I never really understood what that means until I was in a stadium with 50,000 other people, all celebrating the Beatification of Fulton Sheen.”
Cardinal Tagle preached a challenging but affirming message.
“He spoke about Blessed Fulton Sheen’s life and his deep connection through the holy Eucharist,” said Kennedy.
The whole experience brought her closer to Christ in many ways.
Since the Beatification, she is making an effort to attend Mass on Wednesday and Friday mornings before school.
“God has given me so many gifts in life,” she said, “but one of the best ones was the ability to attend the Beatification of Bishop Fulton Sheen.”
Universal call
The sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders from St. George School in Hermann and the eighth-graders from Holy Rosary School in Monroe City were present for the Beatification Mass.
St. George eighth-graders Emily Lampkin and Lyla Stephan said they learned about Bishop Sheen in the weeks leading up to the celebration.
“I was really impressed that he was brave enough to speak in front of 3 million people every Sunday night,” said Lyla.
Emily was impressed to learn about the miracle that led to his Beatification.
“The baby coming back to life after 61 minutes — who could imagine something like that happening?” she asked.
Lyla said she enjoyed listening to the speakers and music before the Mass, especially excerpts from Bishop Sheen’s TV program, “Life Is Worth Living.”
“There were some really cool lessons,” she said.
In one of the clips, he spoke of sincerity meaning “no division between your thoughts and actions.”
“Since then, I’ve been trying to be sincere and more open and honest with people about how I feel,” she said.
Emily said going to the Beatification has motivated her to try to understand other people better.
St. George School Principal Amy Shebaum noted that researching Bishop Sheen helped the students understand that everyone is called to follow God, wherever he leads them.
“Archbishop Sheen said ‘yes’ to God,” she said. “That’s something each of us has to do. We’re all called be saints.”
She said it’s good for people to see an ordinary man living out what he was called to be, thereby becoming a saint.
“That’s what I want my students to take away from this,” she said. “‘Say ‘yes’ when God calls you, and hopefully that will lead you to sainthood, which is what we’re all after.’”
Lyla said she hopes Bishop Sheen will ask God to give her courage to share his word with other people.
“I want him to let God know that I’m giving it my all,” Emily added, “that I’m trying my best, and to look out for me in my struggles.”
Lyla said it was great to share this experience with her friends and her Dad, who was one of the chaperones.
“And to hear the Mass said and sung by so many people, that was super cool!” she said.
On pilgrimage
A group from St. John Henry Newman Parish in Columbia made the trip together.
“What stood out the most for me was the joy,” said Angelle Hall, the parish’s director of Campus Ministry.
The delegation consisted of 23 resident parishioners, 14 college students, six teens and six staff members — “truly representative of Newman!” she said.
Laura Theissen had never attended a Mass with so many people.
“When I heard tens of thousands of people start to say the ‘Confiteor’ — all those voices ringing out to God at the same time — I became overcome with emotion,” said Mrs. Theissen, the Newman parish’s director of Discipleship and Faith Formation.
Getting to witness and participate in such a profound act of divine worship emphasized for her the beauty and fullness of the Catholic faith.
“You could feel the prayers being lifted to heaven during Mass,” she said.
Spending the entire day “on pilgrimage with our fellow Catholics” made it all the more meaningful for her.
Mrs. Hall noted that when someone is declared Blessed in the Church, “we know they are in heaven,” and it is an occasion for joy.
“It was a gift to celebrate with the Church that Blessed Fulton Sheen is in heaven,” she stated.
“We want to be in heaven, to be saints,” she said. “And this glimpse of the joy gives us the encouragement to follow Jesus more closely, so that we can experience this joy with him forever.”
Unceasing hope
Ryan and Allie Bax, members of Cathedral of St. Joseph Parish in Jefferson City, brought their two young children to the Beatification.
Their youngest, 16-month-old Fulton Douglas, is named in honor of Blessed Sheen, to whom Mr. and Mrs. Bax both have strong devotion.
“We found out that his birthday was my son’s due date,” said Mrs. Bax. “That sealed the deal for us. They say you don’t pick your patron saints; your patron saints pick you.”
The Beatification made for a long day for two toddlers — “missing naps and all that,” said Mrs. Bax.
But she and her husband were convinced it would be well worth it for both to be able to look back and know they were there.
“We’ll be able to tell them the story that they got to go,” she stated.
Mrs. Barkofsky said that since attending the Beatification, she’s been praying harder for more priestly and religious vocations.
“Seeing all those priests and seminarians and religious gives me hope that we can grow those numbers,” she said. “Each one of us can play a small part in helping to nourish that idea in the children of our parishes and schools.
“Maybe one day, one of those little guys I’m teaching will be up there at another Beatification,” she said.
OSV News contributed to this report.
