(OSV News) — A Holy Hour series, Masses, and a pre-beatification morning of prayer and reflection lead up to the beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Sept. 24 in St. Louis. Tickets for the beatification Mass at the Dome at America’s Center are still available, and most events will be livestreamed.
Here’s the rundown:
— Sept. 15-23: Holy Hours. A series of evening Holy Hours is already underway at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria, Illinois — the place where Archbishop Sheen was ordained and where his remains are entombed. The Holy Hours are organized through Sept. 23 as a novena — a nine-day prayer series — with Catholic leaders from the Diocese of Peoria and beyond. They are held at 7 p.m. CDT each evening and livestreamed and archived at the diocese’s YouTube channel. Find the full schedule with its list of those providing reflections at celebratesheen.com/pilgrimage.
Archbishop Sheen adopted a daily Holy Hour as part of his own spiritual practice while in formation for the priesthood at St. Paul Seminary from 1917-1919, and he maintained the practice through his life. “The Holy Hour becomes like an oxygen tank to revive the breath of the Holy Spirit in the midst of the foul and fetid atmosphere of the world,” he wrote in his 1979 autobiography, “Treasures of Clay.”
— Sept. 19: Family Holy Hour and tour. On Saturday from 10-12 p.m., the Cathedral of St. Mary in Peoria will host family-friendly Eucharistic adoration for 45-minutes with Bishop Tylka. It is followed by time to explore the cathedral with tour guides and a self-paced scavenger hunt. At the event will be Bonnie Engstrom, a writer and the mother of James Fulton Engstrom, whose miraculous survival at birth was investigated and confirmed as the miracle necessary for Bishop Sheen’s beatification. Also there will be Katie Bogner, a teacher at a Catholic school in Peoria who has created a teaching curriculum about Archbishop Sheen’s life.
— Sept. 20: Ordination anniversary Mass. A 3 p.m. Mass on Sunday at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Peoria commemorates Archbishop Sheen’s priestly ordination on the same day in 1919. According to an archival image, he celebrated his first solemn high Mass the day after at the cathedral.
— Sept. 22: Mass with Cardinal Tagle. A Mass at the Peoria cathedral Tuesday at 9 a.m. will be celebrated by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect of the Section for the First Evangelization and New Particular Churches of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization. Cardinal Tagle is the papal representative presiding at the beatification. Registration for the Mass is requested at celebratesheen.com/pilgrimage.
— Sept. 23: Vespers. On Wednesday, events move 170 miles southwest to St. Louis. At 5 p.m., bishops, clergy, consecrated religious men and women, and laypeople will gather at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis for vespers. Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski of St. Louis will preside, with Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, giving the homily. Registration to attend is closed, but the event will be livestreamed.
— Young adult Holy Hour. From 7:30-9 p.m. Sept. 23, the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal are hosting a Holy Hour for young adults at the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France, also known as the Old Cathedral, in downtown St. Louis near the Gateway Arch. The event does not require tickets; it will also not be livestreamed.
— Sept. 24. The expo hall and “Celebrate Sheen Show.” Beatification-day events begin at the Dome at 8 a.m. with an expo hall featuring Catholic exhibitors, Eucharistic adoration, the sacrament of confession, and the interactive exhibit on the Shroud of Turin called “Who Is the Man of the Shroud?” The expo hall will close from 1-4 p.m. for the beatification Mass, but it will reopen until 7 p.m.
At 10 a.m. in the Dome, speakers and musicians will pay tribute to Archbishop Sheen with the “Celebrate Sheen Show.” The event will feature Katie Prejean McGrady, host of The Catholic Channel on SiriusXM; Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, archbishop emeritus of New York; and speaker and author Sister Josephine Garrett, a member of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth. Catholic musicians Matt Maher and Dave and Lauren Moore of the Catholic Music Initiative will also participate in the show. Participants will together pray the rosary with World Mission Rosaries handcrafted in preparation of this event and modeled on the rosary Archbishop Sheen designed for his work with what is now known as the Pontifical Mission Societies. EWTN will broadcast and livestream the “Celebrate Sheen Show” and the beatification.
— The beatification Mass. At 1:30 p.m. CDT, the procession for the beatification Mass will begin. The Mass will include the rite of beatification, during which a brief biography of Archbishop Sheen will be read. Cardinal Tagle will also read an apostolic letter from Pope Leo XIV in Latin, which is repeated in English. This letter declares that Archbishop Sheen now has the title “blessed.” An image of Archbishop Sheen with a halo will be revealed, and then his relic will be presented for veneration and incensed. Copies of the pope’s letter will be distributed to Church officials, and the congregation will sing a hymn of thanksgiving before the Mass continues. Mass concludes with veneration of Archbishop Sheen’s relic from 4-6 p.m.
— Sept. 25-26: Masses of thanksgiving. Beginning Friday, a series of Masses of thanksgiving will be celebrated to commemorate Archbishop Sheen’s beatification. At the Cathedral of St. Mary in Peoria, Bishop Tylka will celebrate Mass Sept. 25 at 9 a.m.; Archbishop Ronald A. Hicks of New York will celebrate Mass at 11 a.m.; Bishop John S. Bonnici of Rochester, New York, will celebrate Mass at 1 p.m.; and Bishop Joseph M. Perry, retired auxiliary bishop of Chicago, will celebrate Mass at 3 p.m.
Three more Masses of thanksgiving will be celebrated at the cathedral on Sept. 26: 9 a.m. with Archbishop Gabriele G. Caccia, apostolic nuncio to the United States; 11 a.m. with Msgr. Philip Halfacre, vicar general of the Diocese of Peoria; and 1 p.m. with Msgr. Jason Gray, executive director of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation.
Also on Saturday, Bishop Robert M. Pipta of the Eparchy of Parma will celebrate a 3 p.m. Byzantine Divine Liturgy in thanksgiving for Archbishop Sheen’s beatification. Archbishop Sheen himself celebrated the Byzantine liturgy with papal permission to feel close to Christians in Eastern Europe who were then under persecution. This liturgy is expected to include the unveiling of a commemorative icon of Blessed Sheen, in which the archbishop is shown raising his right hand in blessing and his left hand holding a blackboard on which is written “In these troubled times we must become saints” under his signature dedication: “JMJ” for Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
— Sept. 25: Parish talks. On Friday, three talks on Archbishop Sheen’s life and enduring wisdom will be held at three Peoria parishes: St. Jude at 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.; St. Philomena at 11 a.m.; and St. Thomas the Apostle in Peoria Heights at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. RSVPs are requested.
— Sept. 25: Sheen Awards Gala. Described as a celebration of faith, media and evangelization to honor Archbishop Sheen’s legacy, the 6 p.m. inaugural event, held at the Peoria Civic Center, aims to honor individuals whose media work continues Archbishop Sheen’s mission. Special guests are expected to include Archbishop Caccia, Bishop Barron, actor Jonathan Roumie from “The Chosen,” and other Church and media leaders. The event, which includes a red carpet show, is ticketed. It will not be livestreamed; EWTN expects to broadcast the show on or around Oct. 3.
— Sept. 25-26: Hometown Festival. A beatification festival in Peoria will celebrate Archbishop Sheen by bringing together Catholic organizations, artists, musicians and the community. The event will be held 9 a.m.-7 p.m. on Sept. 25 and 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Sept. 26 between the Cathedral of St. Mary and the Sheen Museum.
The full schedule of events is available at celebratesheen.com/pilgrimage. The livestream is at celebratesheen.com/livestream.
