More than 40,000 Catholics from across the United States gathered in St. Louis, for the Sept. 24 beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. Among those were parishioners and priests from the diocese, who shared their experiences with the Catholic Herald.
St. Rita Church parishioner Leigha Doerrer braved the 700-plus-mile journey from Alexandria with three of her six kids. For Helena, 9, Agnes, 8, and William, 6, the entire journey was an adventure like no other.
The day of the beatification, the family arrived early in the morning at The Dome at America’s Center, a large, multipurpose stadium hosting the Mass. A large expo hall stretched before them featuring Catholic vendors, breakout speakers, an adoration chapel and even photo opportunities with a life-sized cutout of Archbishop Sheen. Doerrer’s kids were delighted with a 1950s-era “living room,” where an antique TV played a continuous loop of “Life is Worth Living” episodes. “They had the best time sitting there, immersing themselves in 1950s Americana, watching ‘Life is Worth Living’ in black and white,” she said.
The large presence of religious men and women delighted the children, she added. “They loved to just stop and talk to the children about what they were seeing,” she said. “That definitely made an impact with my little girls.” She said William marveled at seeing the thousands of priests and seminarians present. “It was like a rock concert; just stars in his eyes,” she said.
Father Bjorn C. Lundberg, pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Winchester, described the beatification festivities as “a Catholic homecoming.” He encountered some 10 parishioners who also decided to attend, as well as former parishioners from previous parish assignments and Dominican Sister Mary Veronica Keller, former principal of Saint John Paul the Great Catholic High School in Potomac Shores. Sacred Heart parishioner Kathleen Feuz even brought her grandmother who had been baptized by Archbishop Sheen.
Also among the Sacred Heart parishioners were Charles Presberg and Celeste Borel, co-founders of Dawson Sheen Academy, an independent school named after Archbishop Sheen that recently opened in Clarke County.
All gathered in the stadium after noon to prepare for the Mass. Father Lundberg said a parishioner commented to him, “it was like Catholic Disneyland.”
At 1:30 p.m., the procession of priests, seminarians and bishops began. Father Lundberg noted that despite the clergy processing four abreast, the procession took nearly 50 minutes. All the priests wore a special white chasuble in honor of the beatification, with “JMJ” — short for “Jesus, Mary, Joseph” — embroidered in gold in the style of Archbishop Sheen’s handwriting on the back. “It just really took your breath away,” Doerrer said.
The Mass began with the formal decree of beatification. Peoria Bishop Louis Tylka made a formal request for the beatification to Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect of the Holy See’s Dicastery for Evangelization and papal delegate. Archbishop Sheen’s great-nephew, Paul Cunningham, read a biography of his great-uncle. Cardinal Tagle then proclaimed in Latin the apostolic letter from Pope Leo XIV, officially declaring the beatification. Bishop Tylka then read the letter in English.
A reliquary containing a jawbone of Blessed Sheen was then processed to the altar by 16-year-old James Fulton Engstrom, who in 2010 was born without a heartbeat. Engstrom was miraculously resuscitated 61 minutes later after his parents prayed for Archbishop Sheen’s intercession. The event was declared a miracle and advanced his cause for beatification.
Father Lundberg said that, looking at the jawbone, he thought, “here’s the jaw that preached to millions.”
Father Francis J. Peffley, parochial vicar of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Arlington, was among the concelebrating priests donned in white and gold. He said that for him, the beatification felt personal. His late mother, Mary Peffley, had worked as Archbishop Sheen’s personal secretary for a year in the early 1940s.
Edel Lukens, Father Peffley’s sister, told the Catholic Herald that at that time, Mary was working as an editor at The Catholic Boy magazine at the University of Notre Dame. She then attended a women’s retreat where attendees were encouraged to take on a holy profession, and “work for someone like Msgr. Sheen.”
Mary, in her early 20s, took the advice literally. “That night, she wrote a letter to Msgr. Sheen, offering her services as a secretary,” Lukens said.
According to Lukens, then-Msgr. Sheen actually replied, offering her a job, since his current secretary would be going on leave for a year. After negotiating with Mary’s boss to let her take off a year, Msgr. Sheen interviewed her during a walk around the lake by Notre Dame’s campus, Lukens said.
Mary then moved to Washington, where Msgr. Sheen hosted his radio show, “The Catholic Hour,” and taught philosophy at The Catholic University of America. As his personal secretary, Mary often met famous individuals who received spiritual direction from him, including Clare Boothe Luce, who converted in 1946 and went on to serve two terms in Congress.
Decades later, Mary would be interviewed by a vice postulator for Archbishop Sheen’s cause for canonization, according to the Peffley siblings. Today, the family has several of his autographed books, given to their mother by Archbishop Sheen. Father Peffley also has a photo of the archbishop, on which he signed: “To Mary in token of Christian kindness, faithfully in Christ, Fulton J. Sheen.”
Looking back, Father Peffley said Archbishop Sheen was instrumental in his own vocational discernment. While driving to high school, “I would listen to Bishop Sheen’s tapes, one after another,” he said. “I think that was influential to me, eventually discerning my vocation to the priesthood.”
Attending the beatification Mass, Father Peffley reflected on the archbishop’s impact on both his family and the nation: “He was, as we say, probably the greatest evangelizer of the 20th century.”
Donofrio can be reached at anna.donofrio@catholicherald.com.
