Catholic Church Holds Mass for Archbishop Sheen
By: Sophie Nielsen-Kolding WMBD/WYZZ TV
Updated: September 10, 2012
PEORIA- Peoria's Catholic community celebrating one of the faith's biggest names on Sunday.
A special mass was held in honor of Archbishop Fulton Sheen.
Daniel Jenky is Bishop of the Peoria Catholic Diocese. He said that Sheen was declared Venerable on June 28, 2012, one reason for the celebration.
"Fulton Sheen has been declared venerable and that means, his heroic virtues are held up for the whole church to imitate," Jenky said.
Sheen was a Peoria native who died in 1979. He was a pastor and a teacher who used television and radio to connect with people. Bonnie Engstrom said that connection saved her son's life.
"This is my son James Fulton and James was a stillborn whe he was born almost two years ago," Engstrom said.
"And they rushed him to OSF St. Francis. Doctors worked on him for over an hour and they were just about to declare him dead, they put the body in his mothers arms and all of a sudden the child woke up. There's absolutely no brain damage, there's nothing," Jenky said.
The church is calling it an alleged miracle. Engstrom said it's because she prayed to Sheen.
"Fulton Sheen, Fulton Sheen, over and over again because really, I had just given birth to a 10 pound baby and, I think I was going into shock and that was pretty much the best that I could do was sayng his name to ask for his intercession. To pray for a miracle with us," Engstrom said.
Now James Fulton is two-years-old and his story is part of an effort to have Sheen declared a saint.
"He would be declared the first native born American male saint," Jenky said.
Which for Engstrom and her family, he already is.
"We just think it's a good day for the church, it's a good day to be catholic," she said.
Bishop Jenkey has submitted Sheen's paperwork to the Vatican City. People can also honor him with a visit to the Fulton Sheen Spiritual Center in his hometown, El Paso.
A special mass was held in honor of Archbishop Fulton Sheen.
Daniel Jenky is Bishop of the Peoria Catholic Diocese. He said that Sheen was declared Venerable on June 28, 2012, one reason for the celebration.
"Fulton Sheen has been declared venerable and that means, his heroic virtues are held up for the whole church to imitate," Jenky said.
Sheen was a Peoria native who died in 1979. He was a pastor and a teacher who used television and radio to connect with people. Bonnie Engstrom said that connection saved her son's life.
"This is my son James Fulton and James was a stillborn whe he was born almost two years ago," Engstrom said.
"And they rushed him to OSF St. Francis. Doctors worked on him for over an hour and they were just about to declare him dead, they put the body in his mothers arms and all of a sudden the child woke up. There's absolutely no brain damage, there's nothing," Jenky said.
The church is calling it an alleged miracle. Engstrom said it's because she prayed to Sheen.
"Fulton Sheen, Fulton Sheen, over and over again because really, I had just given birth to a 10 pound baby and, I think I was going into shock and that was pretty much the best that I could do was sayng his name to ask for his intercession. To pray for a miracle with us," Engstrom said.
Now James Fulton is two-years-old and his story is part of an effort to have Sheen declared a saint.
"He would be declared the first native born American male saint," Jenky said.
Which for Engstrom and her family, he already is.
"We just think it's a good day for the church, it's a good day to be catholic," she said.
Bishop Jenkey has submitted Sheen's paperwork to the Vatican City. People can also honor him with a visit to the Fulton Sheen Spiritual Center in his hometown, El Paso.
