(OSV News) — The grace of the beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen comes with corresponding responsibility for Catholics in his home diocese of Peoria, Illinois, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle told Catholics there during Mass Sept. 22.
“This is a grace for all of us here, but also a heavy responsibility,” he said in his homily in Peoria’s Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, where Archbishop Sheen’s remains are entombed. “From now on, when people learn that you are from Peoria, they will say, ‘Oh, are you as missionary-oriented as Bishop Fulton Sheen? Are you deeply entrenched in the Word of God, like the Blessed Fulton Sheen?'”
He said, with a laugh, that he hoped that they would not deny being from Peoria, but rather answer, “Yes, I am from Peoria, and this is a blessing from the Lord.”
Beatification preparation
Cardinal Tagle celebrated the morning Mass at Peoria’s cathedral while visiting the central Illinois city of 113,000 to venerate the relics of Archbishop Sheen, who will be beatified Sept. 24. Serving as Pope Leo XIV’s papal delegate, the cardinal will preside over the beatification Mass in St. Louis, about 170 miles southwest.
Cardinal Tagle, 69, serves as a pro-prefect for the Holy See’s Dicastery for Evangelization, leading its Section for the First Evangelization and New Particular Churches, and is the archbishop emeritus of his native Manila. He is an alumnus of The Catholic University of America in Washington and in 2024 served as the Holy See’s envoy to the 10th National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis.
In the homily, he joked that Catholics from Peoria should not taunt the faithful from nearby Chicago, asking them, “Has Chicago produced a blessed? Oh, no? … Poor Chicago.”
Cardinal Tagle pointed to the Mass’ first reading from Proverbs 21:1-6, which reminds the faithful that “to do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.”
“The heart of a wise person is in the hands of the Lord, and his heart allows the Lord to direct its destiny,” he said, “and when the heart is guided by the Word of the Lord, it will be just … The Lord is more pleased with the heart that is open to his will, that’s attentive to his promptings and is ready to act on his inspiration.”
A ‘heart that listens’
Cardinal Tagle underscored the importance of listening by relating it to the need for understanding between married couples, consecrated religious men and women and their superiors, and priests to their bishops.
“All of us expect to be listened to,” he said, but listening to one another “is at the heart of being a wise person and a follower of the Lord.”
The liturgy’s Gospel reading from Luke 8:19-21 recounted Jesus saying, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”
Cardinal Tagle said the reading showed that “heart that listens” in Mary, who was both Jesus’ mother and disciple. “She must have said, ‘My son recognizes that I became the worthy dwelling place, his dwelling place, because I listened to the word of God’ and after listening, made herself available.”
The obedient heart
A listening heart, the cardinal continued, also reflects the humanity of the Christian. “Pope Leo has been directing all of us to our being persons,” he said, alluding to “Magifica Humanitas,” his recent encyclical on humanity and artificial intelligence. “We are not machines. We are not gadgets. We are persons with hearts.
“Where is your heart?” he continued. “Does it still beat? Does it still hear? Does it still see? Is it still obedient? If it is a truly human heart, then it is capable of relating with God and doing what God says.”
The cardinal encouraged the congregation to follow the example of Mary and Archbishop Sheen in obedience to God. Then, when they say they are from Peoria, he said, people not only associate them with the birthplace of Archbishop Sheen, but with a place where, “like Fulton Sheen, you all listen to the word of God and act on it.”
“Then Peoria becomes part of the wider family, the wider family of God, and Jesus will be pleased,” he said.
Evening Holy Hour
At the end of Mass, Cardinal Tagle recognized the Filipino Catholics present at the Mass and briefly addressed them in their native language. He then greeted the full congregation on behalf of Pope Leo.
“When I go back to Rome, I will surely report to him about the beatification, and will tell him about this Mass and your presence at this Mass,” he said.
He also noted the Holy Hour that he planned to attend later that evening, which is the penultimate Holy Hour in a nine-day series leading up to beatification.
Archbishop Sheen famously 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.
Archbishop Sheen was ordained in 1919 as a priest of the Diocese of Peoria. He taught philosophy at The Catholic University of America and rose to fame first through his radio show “The Catholic Hour” and then TV show “Life is Worth Living.” He meanwhile served as national director for the Society of the Propagation of the Faith, an arm of the Holy See now part of the Pontifical Mission Societies, supporting the Church’s evangelization and humanitarian relief efforts around the world. He was an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York before serving as bishop of Rochester, New York, from 1966 to 1969. Upon his retirement, Pope Paul VI gave him the title “archbishop.” He continued to preach and give retreats, and died at age 85 in 1979.
Maria Wiering is senior managing editor of OSV News.
