The beatification Mass for Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen took place at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis on Sept. 24 with tens of thousands of the faithful in attendance. Pope Leo XIV issued a papal decree granting that Fulton Sheen “may henceforth be called blessed.” Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, acting as the pope’s legate, read the apostolic letter at the Mass in St. Louis.
Blessed Fulton Sheen’s feast day will be Dec. 9, the anniversary of his death. That date also marks the first apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe to St. Juan Diego in 1531.
Clouds pass behind the twin towers of the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria, Illinois, on Sept. 23, 2026, the day before the beatification in St. Louis of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. Sheen is buried at the cathedral. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
A young woman prays with her hands clasped near the covered tomb of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen in
the cathedral at Peoria, Illiniois. The visit took place on Sept. 23, 2026, the eve of Venerable Archbishop
Fulton J. Sheen’s beatification in St. Louis. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
A display at the Archbishop Fulton Sheen Museum recalls Sheen’s pioneering work in television evangelization, with images of the archbishop beside a vintage television camera. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
An overhead view shows the procession and the congregation filling the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis for solemn vespers on Sept. 23, 2026, the eve of Sheen’s beatification. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
The vaulted ceiling and sanctuary of the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria. Sheen was ordained here in 1919. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
Pilgrims kneel in prayer before the covered tomb of now Blessed Fulton J. Sheen in a side chapel of the
Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria, Illinois, on Sept. 23, 2026, the eve of Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen’s beatification in St. Louis. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
Cardinal Timothy Dolan speaks at the beatification Mass for Archbishop Fulton Sheen on Sept. 24, 2026 in St. Louis. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
Priests process into the beatification Mass for Archbishop Fulton Sheen in St. Louis on Sept. 24, 2026. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
The Mass was held at the Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis on. Sept. 24, 2026. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
Priests, religious, and laypeople attended the beatification Mass for Archbishop Fulton Sheen on Sept. 24, 2026. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
Bishops process into the beatification Mass for Archbishop Fulton Sheen on Sept. 24, 2026. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle delivers the homily at Sheen’s beatification Mass. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
A new image of Blessed Fulton Sheen is displayed after he is declared “blessed” at the Mass for his beatification on Sept. 24, 2026, at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
Cardinal Tagle elevates the Host at the beatification Mass for now Blessed Fulton Sheen. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
A young girl looks pensive during the beatification Mass for Archbishop Fulton Sheen on Sept. 24, 2026. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
Cardinal Tagle stands before the new image of Blessed Fulton Sheen during the beatification Mass in St. Louis on Sept. 24, 2026. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
