The Catholic Church has officially recognized a "miracle" attributed to Archbishop Fulton Sheen, a prominent Midwest bishop and pioneering televangelist, moving him closer to sainthood. The Vatican confirmed the healing of an Illinois boy as a medically unexplainable cure, fulfilling a key requirement for beatification.
Bonnie and Andrew Engstrom prayed to Archbishop Sheen for their son James in 2010 after he was born showing no signs of life and medical professionals were unable to revive him. Doctors were preparing to declare the infant deceased when a faint heartbeat was detected. The Engstroms attribute their son's survival to prayers directed to Sheen.
"That was kind of the beginning of a beautiful relationship," Bonnie Engstrom told the Associated Press. Her son James, now a healthy teenager, remains devoted to Sheen, calling him "my protector."
Archbishop Sheen, born in El Paso, Illinois, in 1895 and died in New York in 1979, was a towering figure in 20th-century religious broadcasting. He hosted "The Catholic Hour" on NBC radio from the 1930s to 1950s, reaching an estimated four million listeners. His television show, "Life is Worth a Living," achieved significant popularity, earning him two Emmy awards and a cover appearance on Time magazine in 1952. He is widely considered the first "televangelist."
Path to Beatification
Sainthood in the Catholic Church signifies a "heroic witness of faith," according to Peoria Bishop Louis Tylka. The process typically requires the authentication of at least one miracle, defined as a cure attributed to the candidate's intercession that cannot be explained by medical science. Pope Francis initially approved the Engstrom case as a miracle, but a scheduled beatification ceremony in 2019 was postponed.
The delay stemmed from a request by the Diocese of Rochester due to ongoing investigations into sexual abuse allegations within the Catholic Church in New York. However, church officials later determined that Sheen's record did not warrant further delay, and plans for the ceremony were reinstated. Pope Leo XIV, also from Illinois, approved the beatification in February, following years of delays.
Locals from Sheen's hometown of Peoria, Illinois, and the Engstrom family are preparing for the beatification ceremony, scheduled for September 24. The event is expected to draw tens of thousands of visitors and will be held in St. Louis, Illinois, due to the anticipated crowd size exceeding the capacity of Peoria's venues.
James Engstrom is expected to carry a relic of Archbishop Sheen at the ceremony. After his death in 1979, Sheen was buried at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. In 2019, his body was moved to Peoria's Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception following a legal battle. Today, pilgrims often place items on his tomb, which are then considered relics.
