Celebrating the Beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Substitute for Resolutions 91 and 188

WHEREAS, the Catholic Church, has established that Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen lived a life of heroic virtue and, pursuant to the confirmation of a miracle attributed to his intercession, will raise him to the honors of the altar at a solemn Mass of Beatification on September 24, 2026, in St. Louis, Missouri; and

WHEREAS, Archbishop Sheen was the Catholic voice of his generation, reaching millions of viewers and listeners with the Gospel message through award-wining television and radio programs; and

WHEREAS, Archbishop Sheen joined Council 178 in Rochester, New York, in 1968, and was later inducted into the Fourth Degree as a member of Bishop James E. Kearney Assembly 723; and

WHEREAS, Archbishop Sheen addressed the Supreme Convention on two occasions, at the 88th annual meeting in Houston, Texas, in 1970, and at the 93rd annual meeting in Miami Beach, Florida, in 1975, exhorting Knights to respond to the signs of the times by developing a “theology of the laity”; seeing “Christ in everyone”; bringing the light and love of Christ into the everyday situations of a troubled world; standing up for and serving the most vulnerable, including the aged and the unborn; upholding and defending the teachings of the Church; and growing in the Order’s principles of charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism; and

WHEREAS, as national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, he oversaw a worldwide evangelization initiative and provided vital temporal aid to countless families and individuals in mission areas; and

WHEREAS, the Knights of Columbus supported Archbishop Sheen’s work while he was alive, publicizing his many books and preaching programs and providing financial assistance for his mission activities; and

WHEREAS, wishing to honor and emulate this legendary Churchman, numerous Knights of Columbus councils and Fourth Degree assemblies have been named in his honor, including his home Council 178 in Rochester, New York; and

WHEREAS, during the October 2, 1979, papal visit to New York, Archbishop Sheen was sought out in St. Patrick’s Cathedral and embraced by Pope John Paul II, who told the aging archbishop, “You have written well and spoken well of the Lord Jesus. You are a loyal son of the Church!” and only two months later, on December 9, 1979, Archbishop Sheen was called to his eternal reward.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Knights of Columbus offers heartfelt and grateful prayers on the occasion of the beatification of this world-renowned evangelist and Fourth Degree Knight; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Supreme Council, gathered on the threshold of Archbishop Sheen’s beatification, congratulates Bishop Louis Tylka of Peoria, as well as his predecessor, Bishop Daniel Robert Jenky, C.S.C., who opened the Cause for Canonization in 2002.