Fulton J. Sheen
American catholic bishop and television presenter (1895–1979)
Feast: 9 December (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
The Vatican record
- 5 July 2019 — Miracle through their intercession approved (decree list, 2019)
Who they were
Fulton John Sheen was born on 8 May 1895 at El Paso, Illinois, to parents of Irish descent. A priest and philosopher, he reached tens of millions through radio and television, with his programmes carried by some five hundred stations to thirty million viewers a week, and served as national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith.
Auxiliary Bishop of New York from 1951 and later Bishop of Rochester, he worked to put the Second Vatican Council into practice, especially for the poorest. He died on 9 December 1979.
He was beatified on 24 September 2026 in St Louis, the first American-born bishop to be declared Blessed. Bishop Louis Tylka of Peoria read Pope Leo XIV's apostolic letter before about 50,000 people, and his feast is kept on 9 December, the day he died.
The miracles
James Fulton, a newborn boy — Peoria, Illinois, USA — 16 September 2010
A baby boy born at home was limp, blue, with no heartbeat and no breathing. His parents, who had grown devoted to Archbishop Sheen during the pregnancy, prayed to him from the moment of birth; his father baptised him in danger of death, adding the name Fulton. A nurse, a priest and sisters joined in, a Mass was said in the cathedral, and a holy card of Sheen was put on his hospital cot. About an hour after birth his heart began to beat regularly, he began breathing on his own and his colour returned; later tests found none of the brain damage usual in such cases.
The miracle for his beatification was approved on 5 July 2019, and the beatification was celebrated on 24 September 2026. A second approved miracle is needed for canonisation.
Why that counted as sanctity
The case of James Fulton, a newborn boy was examined by the Church's doctors and theologians and approved as a miracle on 5 July 2019, opening the way to beatification. Beatification followed on 24 September 2026 by Pope Leo XIV, at the Dome at America’s Center in St Louis, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle presiding.
The cause
Fulton J. Sheen has been beatified; the cause continues. Favours received, and offers of help, go to the postulation, the office that carries the cause forward: Sheen Foundation: the cause of Fulton J. Sheen.
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography of Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, with the miracle
- OSV News - Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen declared Blessed at Mass in St Louis, 24 September 2026
- EWTN News - beatification of Fulton Sheen: feast kept on 9 December
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints — promulgated decrees (causesanti.va), summarised in our own words
- Wikidata Q954398 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Fulton J. Sheen (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 25 September 2026. Corrections welcome.