‘A foretaste of heaven’: Sheen beatification organizers eager for Mass

ST. LOUIS — For Bonnie Engstrom, who witnessed her newborn child miraculously healed through the intercession of soon-to-be Blessed Archbishop Fulton Sheen , the journey to the prelate’s beatification has been an “emotional roller coaster.”

The Sept. 24 Mass will be “a foretaste of heaven,” she predicted, “where we are all going to be worshipping God together and celebrating the Church as a whole, and the power of the body of Christ and every good grace that God has given us. I am so looking forward to it,” Engstrom said at a Thursday morning press conference.

Engstrom spoke to the media along with Bishop Louis Tylka of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, and Monsignor Jason Gray, executive director of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation in Peoria. Gray said it is a relief, after years of technical investigations and paperwork, to see their work finally come to fruition and be able to join in the celebration of Sheen with the faithful.

That said, Gray admitted he has been surprised during the process at how much attention Sheen has attracted, particularly among young people.

“One question that came up early on [was]: Whoʼs going to care? All the people who knew him when…