For the first time, an American born Catholic bishop is one step away from becoming a saint. And tens of thousands of people came to St. Louis to see it happen.
The Catholic Church held a beatification Mass for Archbishop Fulton Sheen Thursday at the Dome at America's Center. The faithful from 49 states and 10 countries came to the ceremony that gives Fulton Sheen the title "Blessed" and his own feast day.
It also means he is nearly a saint.
Fulton Sheen was born in the small town of El Paso, Illinois and later lived in Peoria. In addition to his training to become a priest, he studied and later taught philosophy at Catholic University in Washington, DC.
But he is best known for his use of broadcast media to share his messages about Jesus, one of the first in the Catholic faith to do so. He started in radio but then was on TV in the 1950s and 60s, most notably for the show "Life Is Worth Living" that reached an international audience.
Sheen was charismatic, bold, and to the point, like in a 1955 episode where he challenged people to see the dangers of a materialistic life.
"To a great extent we are assuming that all we need to be happy is some external prosperity. In other words, we've made our philosophy a philosophy of having, rather than a philosophy of being," Sheen said.
Sheen was more than a preacher — he was a star, winning an Emmy in 1953, beating out Lucille Ball for Most Outstanding Personality.
Diane Heckley of Bloomington, Indiana remembers watching Sheen on television with her parents. She came to the beatification mass because all these years later, she said she is still drawn to his message.
"He was so able to communicate his faith and holiness and just everything beautiful about the Catholic Church to his audiences. He had a wonderful gift," Heckley said.
Even though it's been decades since Sheen was on air, clips of his shows have attracted a new audience, via social media.
Catholic influencers and news services have been posting excerpts of his shows on Instagram and TikTok.
Ellie Fontana, a 24 year-old from Nashville, Tennessee came to the beatification Mass because Sheen has "gone viral".
"He's just very relatable to my generation now and that means everything and it's something that we can look forward to," she said. "Because we're all called to be saints. And I think you can even see how Gen Z is responding today, just how relevant and how much needed it is in the church today."
The mood at the all-day event at the Dome was one of celebration. There was music and speakers with a recreation of Sheen's set from his TV shows as a backdrop for some presentations.
There was an expo hall full of tables set up more like a conference or networking event than a religious ceremony. There were even merch tables where one could buy t-shirts or a Fulton Sheen Lego mini-figurine.
Beatification requires a miracle. 16 years ago, a baby was born without a heartbeat but recovered after his parents prayed to the archbishop. The Vatican certified that as a miracle. The baby's mother, Bonnie Engstrom of Washington, Illinois, said she always felt a connection to Sheen, even though she only knew him by watching TV shows that aired before she was alive.
"He reminded me of spending time with my great grandpa, and the wisdom and the humor and the personality, it was such a warm character," Engstrom said. "I knew that that was a man that I wanted to get to know better and that I wanted to spend time with."
Engstrom named her son James Fulton — to honor Sheen. He led the procession of the relic of the archbishop in the beatification Mass. The Catholic Church is currently evaluating six other miracles attributed to Sheen to certify a second one. If that happens, then Pope Leo XIV, who is also from Illinois, could take the final step to make him a saint.
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