A Blessed Voice for the Gospel

October 2, 2026

Knights of Columbus and their families rejoice with tens of thousands at the beatification of U.S. bishop and brother Knight Fulton Sheen

By Cecilia Engbert

October 2, 2026

Fourth Degree Knights provide an honor guard during the veneration of the relics of Blessed Fulton Sheen following the beatification Mass. — Fourth Degree Knights provide an honor guard during the veneration of the relics of Blessed Fulton Sheen following the beatification Mass at the Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis on Sept. 24. (Photo by Sid Hastings)

Knights of Columbus and their families — including Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly, Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William Lori and other Supreme Officers — were among approximately 50,000 people who attended the beatification Mass for Archbishop Fulton Sheen Sept. 24 at the Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization and a Knight of Columbus, presided at the Mass. The internationally broadcast event included the reading of an apostolic letter from Pope Leo XIV declaring Sheen blessed and establishing his feast day on Dec. 9, the anniversary of his death.

In his letter, Pope Leo XIV described Sheen as “a tireless preacher of the Gospel through the modern means of communication and a diligent shepherd animated by missionary zeal.”

A Fourth Degree Knight of Columbus and an internationally acclaimed media personality, Archbishop Sheen spoke with clarity and warmth on contemporary issues, challenging American Catholics to be evangelists for Christ. He also served as U.S. national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith — one of the four Pontifical Mission Societies — from 1950 to 1966.

In his homily, Cardinal Tagle identified the source of Sheen’s holiness as his deep relationship with Christ, fostered in part by a daily Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament.

Supreme Officers gather before the beatification Mass of Blessed Fulton Sheen. — From left: Supreme Secretary John Marrella, Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William Lori, Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly, Deputy Supreme Knight Arthur Peters and Supreme Advocate Anthony Picarello gather at the Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis before the beatification Mass of Blessed Fulton Sheen. (Photo by Sid Hastings)

“It is for being a zealous and creative evangelizer and advocate for mission that Fulton Sheen is called blessed — or ‘fortunate’ or ‘happy,’” the cardinal said. “The missionary evangelizer is truly blessed, fortunate and happy because of the gift of communion with Jesus. That’s the root of blessedness: communion with Jesus.”

Cardinal Tagle also emphasized Archbishop Sheen’s missionary heart. “The risen Lord sends his disciples to preach the Gospel to every creature — not to an abstract world or society — every creature,” he said. “For Archbishop Sheen, caring for the poor was not ideological propaganda, but an imperative for the following of Christ, of the joining of the Church and the missions, and of the conversion inspired by the Holy Spirit.”

Archbishop Sheen spoke at numerous K of C events and collaborated with the Order in Catholic education and evangelization. In 1930, the Supreme Council contributed $5,000 when the national Catholic Hour radio program launched. At the 88th Supreme Convention in Houston in 1970, he challenged his brother Knights “to rebuild a morally united nation,” and five years later, in Miami Beach, Florida, he encouraged them to keep Jesus at the center of their efforts to build the kingdom of God on earth.

“I think in many ways he was a thoroughly modern man, in the sense that he spoke to our culture about so many things: politics, science, culture, trends,” said Supreme Knight Kelly, speaking with EWTN during a beatification pre-show program. “Some of his most powerful talks were later in his life, in the 1970s, when there was so much reeling in our culture at the time, and he spoke directly to that in very powerful ways.”

The first U.S.-born bishop to be declared blessed, Archbishop Sheen is the second member of the Knights of Columbus in the United States to receive that distinction, following the Order’s founder, Blessed Michael McGivney, who was beatified in 2020.

Blessed Fulton Sheen’s emphasis on the “theology of the laity” was particularly relevant to his brother Knights, said Supreme Knight Kelly.

“It was a perfect thing for him to talk to the Knights of Columbus about, as a large lay organization: to be believers, to be Catholic, to be well-formed, but then to take action with that,” he said. “That was his crucial message to us. He talked a lot about keeping Christ … at the center of everything we do.”

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle waves during the recessional at the Fulton Sheen beatification Mass. — Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, papal legate for Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s beatification, waves during the recessional at the Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis on Sept. 24. (Photo by Sid Hastings)

A pioneer in Catholic media, Archbishop Sheen used his talents for the glory of God and the salvation of others.

“The Lord has given all of us different gifts,” said the supreme knight. “He hasn’t bestowed all the gifts on any one person, but all sorts of different gifts. … I think at an early age, Sheen realized that the Lord had given him gifts; he cultivated that.”

To be canonized, Blessed Fulton Sheen needs one more approved miracle attributed to his intercession. The miracle recognized for his beatification was the complete recovery of James Fulton Engstrom, who was born without a pulse in September 2010 and remained without one for 61 minutes. James, whose father, Travis, is a member of Father John Menco Council 6707 in Washington, Illinois, carried a reliquary containing a relic of Blessed Fulton to the altar during the beatification Mass, accompanied by his family.

Illinois State Deputy Lloyd Reinkensmeier, who attended with a delegation of Knights from Illinois and Missouri, recalled that moving moment.

“Here was the young man whose revival as a newborn, attributed to Blessed Fulton J. Sheen’s intercession, had helped bring us to this day,” Reinkensmeier said. “Seeing him there made the miracle deeply personal.”

Reinkensmeier shares a connection with Blessed Fulton as a fellow Illinois native and Knight. His devotion began years ago when he tuned in to Archbishop Sheen’s television programs after work.

“His chalkboard caught my attention, but what kept me watching was his ability to explain a subject simply and clearly. He made the faith understandable,” he said. “When I first watched his programs, I was simply looking for help understanding my Catholic faith. I could not have imagined that I would one day attend his beatification.”

Reinkensmeier said Blessed Fulton’s witness reminds him of his responsibility as a Knight to reach people where they are.

Fourth Degree Knights walk in procession following the beatification Mass for Archbishop Fulton Sheen. — Fourth Degree Knights walk in procession following the beatification Mass for Archbishop Fulton Sheen at the Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis on Sept. 24. (Photo by Sid Hastings)

“For me, that happened through a television program late at night after work. For someone today, it may happen through a weekly reflection, a conversation or an invitation to a parish gathering,” he said. “Blessed Fulton J. Sheen’s example encourages me to keep learning, keep serving and keep sharing the faith. We may never know the full effect of a faithful act, but God can use it in ways we never imagined.”

For Father Gabriel Mosher, O.P., Utah state chaplain and chaplain of Father Thomas D. Kraft, O.P., Council 14764 at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, attending the beatification was an opportunity to thank Blessed Fulton for his vocation.

“When I entered the Dominican Order, I entrusted my priesthood to him and asked his intercession that I would persevere and be accepted as a friar and a priest,” Father Mosher said. “Well, here I am. I feel like I owe that to him, and so I came on a pilgrimage of thanksgiving to his beatification.”

Father Mosher encouraged the faithful to make a pilgrimage to Blessed Fulton’s tomb. His remains lie in the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria, Illinois.

“We should not let this moment rest,” Father Mosher said. “We need to seek his intercession, make pilgrimage to his major relics. We are being called to something both old and new by this beatification, and we can’t let the moment slip away.”

*****

CECILIA ENGBERT is a content producer for the Knights of Columbus communications department.

Clergy and staff representing the Knights of Columbus, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Catholic Near East Welfare Association gather for Mass at the Church of Our Saviour in New York on May 4.

A Blessed Voice for the Gospel

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