From The Pillar:
Peoria Bishop Louis Tylka announced Monday that the Vatican has approved the beatification of American Archbishop Fulton Sheen, setting the stage for a beatification Mass later this year.
While Tylka did not announce when the beatification Mass will take place, sources close to the process have told The Pillar that a September date is likely, and the Mass is likely to take place outside of Peoria, the largely rural diocese where Sheen was ordained a priest, and where his canonization cause was initiated. The Feb. 9 announcement comes after The Pillar reported last month that Sheen’s beatification approval was imminent, and would come ahead of the anticipated retirement of apostolic nuncio Cardinal Christophe Pierre, which Vatican-watchers expect to see announced within weeks. [Full story]
From The New York Times:
The Vatican will allow an American archbishop, who was one of the best-known Catholic clergy of the last century, to be beatified, ending a six-year delay and placing him one step away from sainthood. The announcement about the archbishop, Fulton J. Sheen, who was born in Illinois and became a popular midcentury radio and television host, was made by the diocese of Peoria, which is sponsoring the archbishop’s cause for sainthood.
“This is a great moment for the local church in Peoria, for the church here in the United States and for the church universal,” Bishop Louis Tylka of Peoria said in an interview on Monday. He said he had been informed by the Holy See, the governing authority of the Roman Catholic church, that Archbishop Sheen can now proceed to beatification. [Full story]
From Our Sunday Visitor:
Born Sept. 16, 2010, James didn’t have a pulse or take a breath for 61 minutes after a planned home birth due to a knot in his umbilical cord. His parents, Bonnie and Travis Engstrom, had entrusted their baby to Fulton Sheen during their pregnancy, and they turned to him now for a miraculous healing through his intercession. Word spread quickly, and people around the Diocese of Peoria — where Archbishop Sheen was ordained a priest in 1919 — and beyond joined the Engstroms in storming heaven with prayer.
James’ heart started to beat just as the medical team at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria decided they were out of options. The newborn’s healing, which doctors could not explain, was attributed to the intercession of Archbishop Sheen. It became the miracle that cleared the way for his beatification. “It’s pretty cool. I like being the ‘miracle baby,’” James recently told OSV News, adding that having a role in Archbishop Sheen’s sainthood cause makes him feel “special.” [Full story]
From Zenit:
After more than two decades marked by enthusiasm, setbacks and prolonged silence, the cause of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen has reached a decisive threshold. The Holy See has formally notified Bishop Louis Tylka of Peoria, Illinois, that the cause of the Venerable Servant of God may now proceed to beatification, clearing the way for the American prelate to be declared “Blessed” in the Catholic Church. The announcement, welcomed by the Diocese of Peoria, places one of the most recognizable Catholic figures of the 20th century on the brink of official liturgical veneration. The next step, as Bishop Tylka explained, is the celebration of the beatification itself, the date and location of which are now being coordinated with the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.