Thanksgiving Mass for Beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

All are invited for a special Mass of Thanksgiving at Christ Cathedral on Sept. 24 at 5:30 p.m. honoring the beatification of Archbishop Fulton Sheen, the influential American televangelist. The diocesan Mass coincides with Sheen’s Mass of Beatification, organized by the Diocese of Peoria and happening the same day in St. Louis, Missouri.

What makes Sheen’s beatification particularly special for the Christ Cathedral campus is its direct connection to Sheen. During the Crystal Cathedral and “Hour of Power” era under Dr. Robert Schuller, Sheen preached in the Arboretum. In addition, an image of Sheen is inside the St. Callistus chapel, next to Schuller’s (who always referred to Sheen as one of his “mentors.”)

For this past summer’s “Faith, History & Heritage” diocesan archives exhibition, Sheen’s “Christ Self-Giving” sermon in the Arboretum — which originally aired in 1972 on “Hour of Power” — was presented. The 17-minute video is available here with subtitles.

Beatification is a formal step in the canonization process for Sheen, to whom the Vatican has attributed the miraculous recovery in 2010 of a stillborn child who had no detectable heartbeat or respiration for over an hour. After prayers asking for the intercession of Archbishop Sheen, the child’s heart began beating again, and he recovered fully with no lasting medical issues. To learn more about the life of Archbishop Fulton Sheen and his beatification, visit CelebrateSheen.com