Fulton Sheen webcast to prepare Catholics for September beatification

A free national webcast Aug. 27 will help Catholics prepare for Venerable Fulton Sheen’s beatification by explaining his canonization cause and the celebrations planned for September.

Titled “Before He Is Called Blessed,” the hourlong program will offer a celebration of Ven. Sheen’s life, canonization cause, and approaching beatification, according to organizers.

The program will explain the meaning of beatification and the Vatican-recognized miracle that advanced Ven. Sheen’s cause. It will also provide details on the events planned in Peoria and St. Louis, including how Catholics can take part from home.

Peoria Bishop Louis Tylka and Monsignor Jason Gray, executive director of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation, are among those scheduled to participate.

The webcast will also feature Katie Prejean McGrady, a host on SiriusXM’s The Catholic Channel; Colm Flynn, an EWTN broadcaster; Alessandro DiSanto, co-founder of Hallow; Peter Gagnon, president of EWTN Studios; and Sister Josephine Garrett of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth. David Bereit, founder of 40 Days for Life, will host the event.

The webcast will take place exactly four weeks before Ven. Sheen is beatified Sept. 24 at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis.

Ven. Sheen, who died in 1979, became one of the most recognizable Catholic figures in 20th-century America through his preaching, writing, and pioneering work in radio and television. His Emmy Award-winning program, “Life Is Worth Living,” brought Catholic teaching to millions of American homes, as Zeale News previously reported.

The Holy See cleared the way in February for Ven. Sheen’s beatification nearly seven years after Pope Francis approved a miracle attributed to his intercession.