Archbishop Fulton Sheen Beatified in St. Louis; White House Marks the Day

On Sep 24, 2026, Venerable Fulton J. Sheen was beatified at a Mass at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri, where Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, presided as Pope Leo XIV’s delegate and read the apostolic letter declaring Sheen Blessed before an estimated 50,000 people, according to Vatican News and OSV News. Pope Leo XIV, speaking at a General Audience on the eve of the ceremony, held up Sheen’s media evangelization as an example for spreading the Gospel “with joyful enthusiasm.”

The White House issued a presidential message the same day that stated Melania and President Trump join those celebrating Sheen’s life and legacy, and that Sheen “will become the first-ever American-born bishop to be beatified by the Catholic Church.” The message recounted Sheen’s Illinois roots, his teaching and radio work, consecration as Auxiliary Bishop of New York in 1951, and the television program Life Is Worth Living, which drew a vast mid-century audience. It was an official commemorative statement, not campaign material.

Sheen (1895–1979) was later Bishop of Rochester, New York, and died in December 1979. After recognition of heroic virtue and a miracle attributed to his intercession, beatification conferred on him the title “Blessed.”