A ‘porter’ who led others to Christ: Archbishop Fulton Sheen declared ‘blessed’

ST. LOUIS — Archbishop Fulton Sheen, despite his humble origins in small-town Illinois, aspired to great things as an academic and as a communicator of the Catholic faith. On Sept. 24, before a crowd of tens of thousands at The Dome at America’s Center, the farm-boy-turned-mass-media star was declared “blessed” after the reading of a decree signed by Pope Leo XIV, a fellow Midwesterner.

Via his decree, Pope Leo announced Blessed Sheen’s feast day will be on Dec. 9, the anniversary of his death. His feast day is expected to be on the calendar of the Catholic Church in the United States.

Cardinal Luis Tagle, the pope’s representative and the principal celebrant of the beatification Mass, reflected on the meaning of “blessed” during his homily — noting that throughout history many who shared the Christian faith suffered persecution, yet their lives were still marked by joy. It is Sheen’s deep, humble relationship with Jesus Christ and his radical solidarity with the poor and vulnerable that characterized his life as a missionary, one that all Catholics should emulate, Tagle said.

Despite his massive worldly popularity and the fact that he personally accompanied countless…