Peoria Diocese launches special prayer service for beatification of Fulton Sheen

Posted on December 9, 2019
Bishop Sheen
The late Archbishop Fulton Sheen of El Paso. (Photo YouTube)

 

By Neil Doyle

PEORIA – The Diocese of Peoria is holding a special prayer service to move forward with the beatification of Archbishop Fulton Sheen.

In a news release, the diocese said it will hold a nine-day novena, or pray services, to “petition God unceasingly” to move forward with beatification, a title achieved before one can become a saint in the Catholic Church.

Sheen’s beatification was supposed to happen Dec. 21 but was postponed earlier this month. Bishop Daniel Jenky says the novena will start Thursday and will include daily meditations on reflections from Sheen.

The diocese said the novena will be televised on Catholic television networks and social media.

An El Paso native, Sheen died in 1979. His remains were returned to St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria earlier this year, the same place he was ordained as a priest 100 years ago.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]

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