Bishop Fulton J. Sheen

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen was an author, educator and Peoria-area favorite son.

In the early days of television, the El Paso, Illinois native was also a genuine star who drew top ratings for his series of prime time sermons, twice won Emmy Awards as most outstanding personality and appeared on the cover of Time Magazine.

His Tuesday night program went head-to-head against Milton Berle — a heavyweight TV comedian and variety show host — and drew millions of viewers.

“Bishop Sheen had better writers,” Berle reportedly joked about Sheen’s Biblical source material.

As the 40th anniversary of his Dec. 9, 1979 death approaches, memories of Sheen have regained prominence as he nears designation as a Roman Catholic saint.

A century after he was first ordained, Sheen will be beatified Dec. 21 at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Peoria.

“This is the same cathedral where Sheen was ordained a priest 100 years ago on Sept. 20, 1919,” a Peoria diocesan news release said. “It seems entirely fitting that the beatification will take place at the end of this 100-year anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood.”

Sheen was born in El Paso on May 8, 1895 and served as altar boy at St. Mary’s Cathedral. He graduated valedictorian of Spalding Institute in Peoria. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium in 1923, and was ordained a year later.

In 1951, Sheen was appointed auxiliary bishop of New York, where he remained until 1966 when he was appointed as Bishop of Rochester. After his retirement in 1969, he returned to New York City, where he died on Dec. 9, 1979.

While conducting pastoral and educational work, Sheen also immersed himself in popular media — first in radio and later  on television — with his series of talks on the Catholic faith and other religious and moral subjects.

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen appeared on the old Dumont Network in the early 1950s before switching to ABC following that network’s demise

From 1930-50 he hosted The Catholic Hour on NBC. In 1952, he transitioned to television with a 30-minute Life is Worth Living program that run until 1957, first on the Dumont Network and later on ABC.  From 1961-68 he hosted the syndicated The Fulton J. Sheen Program.

Sheen is entombed in a marble vault at St. Mary’s Cathedral beside the altar where he was ordained. His body was transferred to Peoria on June 27, following a lengthy series of legal battles in civil courts.

According to his will, Sheen declared his wish to be buried in the Archdiocese of New York Calvary Cemetery. He was, instead, placed in the crypt of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.

In March, an appeals court in New York ruled unanimously against St. Patrick’s Cathedral trustees, allowing for his transfer to Peoria, thus thwarting their efforts to keep his body there.

Sheen’s beatification is centered on the healing of James Fulton Engstrom, of Washington, Illinois, who was stillborn when he was delivered at home on Sept. 16, 2010. His parents immediately invoked the prayers of Sheen before the child was transported to OSF HealthCare St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria.

Others joined them in prayers to Sheen, and the infant heart began to beat moments before he was to be declared dead, 61 minutes after he was born without a pulse.

In 2011, the diocese conducted a canonical investigation and submitted its findings to the Vatican. On July 27, The Congregation for the Causes of Saints promulgated a decree recognizing a miracle attributed to Sheen’s intercession, allowing his beatification.

Another miracle attributed to Sheen would contribute — following another investigation — to a case for declaration by the Pope as a Saint.

Tickets to Sheen’s beatification ceremony, which begins at 9 a.m., were made available Nov. 22 at celebratesheen.com, a Peoria Diocese website. Tickets are considered RSVP and are free.

Chronicle editor Jack McCarthy contributed