Man recounts 1962 train ride with Fulton Sheen at historic beatification
More than six decades after Bishop Fulton Sheen stepped in to help a mother traveling with young children, Sean D’Arcy shared the family story as thousands gathered to celebrate the beatification of the beloved Catholic evangelist.
At 2 years old, Sean D’Arcy sat on Fulton Sheen’s lap during a 1962 train ride through New York, a story he recounted to Zeale News Sept. 24 at Sheen’s beatification in St. Louis, Missouri.
Although D’Arcy was too young to remember the encounter himself, he said his mother vividly recalled the story, allowing him to recount the hour-long ride more than six decades later.
Traveling from Syracuse to Buffalo with her young children, D’Arcy’s mother found a helping hand in Sheen, who was traveling to Rochester and offered to help as she got the family settled.
“[Sheen] was helping her get organized, and said, ‘Do you want me to entertain one of those kids?’ That was me,” D’Arcy said. “Because I was probably the most hyperactive of the group. So I sat on Fulton Sheen’s lap, and he pointed out all these things in the window for about an hour. He was probably having a lot of fun just entertaining me.”
It took some time, however, before D’Arcy’s mother realized who had been entertaining her young son.
“She didn’t recognize him right away. But after a while, she kept looking at him, and she goes, ‘Wait a second. That’s Fulton Sheen.’ So she recognized him, and it turned into a great family story.”
At the time of the train ride, Sheen was serving as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York.
D’Arcy shared the family story ahead of Sheen’s beatification Mass, where 50,000 faithful gathered to celebrate the renowned evangelist as he was declared Blessed, the final step before canonization.
For D’Arcy, the beatification also offered Catholics an opportunity to turn to Sheen’s intercession.
“It’s an opportunity to beg for his intercession,” he said, mentioning intentions within his own family.
Looking at the thousands gathered for the beatification, D’Arcy particularly pointed to the young people encountering Sheen’s life and legacy.
“There’s so many people here, and young people here, that they can learn,” he said.
D’Arcy also said that learning about Sheen can begin simply by encountering the places and work that shaped his spiritual life. He recalled visiting the crypt beneath St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, where Sheen regularly prayed before the Blessed Sacrament.
“I’ve been in the crypt. I’ve been at the kneeler, and you feel his presence in the kneeler,” D’Arcy said.
He encouraged those less familiar with Sheen to begin by learning about his life and work.
“I think for most people, they just have to find out about him,” he said. “Read about him, watch his shows.”
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