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Fulton Sheen, Illinois’ ‘near-saint,’ is officially beatified · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Fulton Sheen, Illinois near Saint is officially beatified. Written by Tom Collins
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  This article is being read by an automated voice, brought to you
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  by Everlit. He was born in El Paso, near Bloomington. He took
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  his holy orders in Peoria, where he is entombed. This Illinois now
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  is a near saint with a feast day celebrated december ninth. Archbishop
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  Fulton J. Sheen, eighteen ninety five to nineteen seventy nine, officially became
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  Blessed Fulton Sheen at a beatification mass celebrated Thursday at the Dome
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  at America's Center in St. Louis. That site was chosen in part
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  because no venue in the Diocese of Peoria was large enough to
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  accommodate eighty nine bishops, a thousand priests, and hundreds more religious who
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  flocked in from across the globe to celebrate Sheen's life and legacy.
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  Dozens of Catholics from across north-central Illinois, at least six busloads from
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  La Salle and Bureau counties, also jammed the venue to celebrate an
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  Illinois-born Catholic being raised to the altars. Jane Picado helped organize a
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  bus trip to St. Louis from the Spring Valley parish. The headcount
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  was 52, no trouble filling this motor coach, and, despite the early
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  departure, the bus was noisy with excitement. There are people who've said
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  they have pictures of Sheen on the nightstand, had them for years,
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  and they're excited to go to Saint Louis, Picado said. It's a
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  once in a lifetime opportunity. Dan Draper of Dalzell made a few
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  stops en route to Saint Louis, including Saint Mary Church in El
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  Paso, the site of Sheen baptism. He'd been planning the trip since
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  the beatification date was announced, and we're very excited it is finally
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  here. Though long aware of Sheen's name and reputation for holiness, Draper
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  said his interest in the Sheen’s cause.
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  Grew as he watched videos of Sheen speaking on YouTube. His messages
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  from long ago still apply to day, Draper said. He is very
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  relatable. The Reverend Paul Carlson, pastor of the parishes in Oglesby hand
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  Utica, said he began his formation just as the Bishop Daniel Jenky
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  opened Sheen's cause. The bishop's orders were clear pray for Sheen to
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  be raised to the altar, and get everyone else praying too. I
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  remember being a new seminarian in two thousand three and given a
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  stack of Fulton Sheen holy cards to hand out to everyone we
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  met. Carlson said en route to the vesting room for Thursday's Mass,
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  and I guess that kind of worked. There were, however, a few
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  hurdles to be cleared during The nearly quarter century between the opening
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  of Sheen's cause in two thousand two and the Vatican's decision, earlier
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  this year, to proceed with Sheen's beatification. One significant hurdle was getting
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  the Vatican to approve a documented miracle attributable to Sheen's intercession. Monsignor
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  Jason Gray, Executive Director for the Fulton Sheen Foundation, said during a
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  Thursday press conference that the diocese actually collected evidence of three miracles.
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  The one presented to Pope Francis was a baby, James Fulton Engstrom
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  of Goodfield, near Peoria, who in 2010 was revived 61 minutes after
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  birth
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  Bonnie’s Engstrom, James's mother, told the press corps Thursday she and her
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  husband placed each of their eight children under the patronage of a
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  saint and had selected Sheen to watch over James. If you can't
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  tell, my voice is already cracked, Angstrom said, when asked how she
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  felt seeing Sheen beatified. I already have tears in my eyes. It
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  has definitely been an emotional roller coaster. James's birth And Bonnie's testimony
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  spurred one Oglesby teacher to attend the Beatification. Gina Baker, while teaching
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  at then Trinity Catholic Academy, now Academy of St. Carlo Acutis, heard
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  Bonnie Engstrom speak at a 2018 Teachers Conference and was effectively introduced
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  to Sheen. Since then, Baker regularly brings her students to Peoria to
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  tour the Sheen Museum and visit Sheen, crypt. Any day when thousands
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  of Catholics gather to pray the Mass is an exciting day, and
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  it is especially exciting for our diocese, Baker said. I feel blessed
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  to be able to experience this day and all the graces that
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  it will bring. Even with the Engstrom miracle in hand, the wait
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  for beatification was a long one. Just weeks before Sheen was initially
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  set for beatification in 2019, allegations surfaced that Sheen, while serving as
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  Bishop of Rochester, New York, turned a blind eye to sexual abuse
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  by subordinates. The allegations against Sheen proved unfounded, but Francis halted then
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  beatification pending an investigation. Peoria was peppered with questions about when Sheen
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  would finally be beatified. A hint came in May twenty twenty five
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  when Chicago born Robert Francis Prevost was elected pontiff. Pope Leo XV
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  didn't conceal his admiration for Sheen, and finally ended the postponement. Leo
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  was not present. Thursday the pontiff heads to France this weekend. But
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  in his place stood Cardinal Luis Taguel. Taggle read aloud. In Latin
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  the beatification formula and then portraits were unveiled of Sheen, both on
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  the temporary altar inside the dome and at Sheen's crypt in the
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  Peoria Cathedral. The latter was televised on screens inside the dome. The
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  missionary evangelizer is truly blessed and happy because of communion with Jesus,
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  Tegel said, commenting on Sheen's legacy. Prior to the Mass, Peoria Bishop
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  Louis Tilka acknowledged Thursday the overall timing is providential. Sheen
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  is being elevated under a pontiff from Illinois during the two hundred
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  fiftieth anniversary of the US, and during the one hundred fiftieth anniversary
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  of the founding of the Peoria Diocese. Thursday also happened to be
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  the anniversary of the passing of a former Peoria bishop, Archbishop John
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  Myers. I've said many a time, I think Sheen is a saint,
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  Tilka said. We're just trying to catch up to him. Thursday's ceremony
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  was an acknowledgement not only of a holy life, but also of
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  a groundbreaking evangelical career across emerging media. Sheen hosted Life is
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  Worth Living on TV from 1952 to 1957. Despite heavy competition, Milton
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  Burl was featured in a rival time slot, the program was a
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  hit and drew viewers across multiple faiths and denominations. Sheen also left
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  behind a vast collection of writings and these, coupled with reruns of
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  Life Is Worth Living, attracted new generations of admirers. The Ottawa parishes
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  filled four motor coaches with pilgrims, including two for students at Marquette
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  High School. The Reverend Nicholas Wilson, Marquette's chaplain, said the parish invited
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  students to make a field trip to Saint Louis. The seats were
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  snatched up. The students are always up for an adventure, and I
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  think they really appreciate the historic nature of this occasion, Wilson said.
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  Sheen really makes holiness much more personal and real to them, particularly
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  because he's from our diocese.