Fulton Sheen

Although he was baptized as Peter John Sheen, he was called Fulton (his mother’s maiden name), from childhood. As a young altar server, he dropped a glass cruet in front of a bishop, who predicted he would himself become a priest and bishop. Though he felt the call early, Sheen entered the seminary only after finishing his undergraduate studies, and was ordained a priest on September 20, 1919. He became a celebrated scholar, educator, and evangelist, reaching millions through a 22-year radio broadcast and his 1951 TV series, He was then consecrated as Bishop of Rochester in 1966, but resigned in 1969 and was named titular archbishop of Newport, Wales, a role he held until his death on December 9, 1979. His cause for canonization opened in 2002, and he will be beatified on September 24, 2026, in St. Louis.