On Wednesday, March 25, 2026, the Holy See announced that Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s beatification will take place on Sept. 24, 2026.
The soon-to-be beatified Fulton J. Sheen spoke of a life well lived on NBC Radio’s The Catholic Hour.
In the Fifth Meditation of The Holy Hour, titled “Giving Glory to God in the World,” he shared a quote from one of John Henry Newman’s sermons:
“When persons are convinced that life is short, that it is unequal to any great purpose, that it does not display adequately, or bring to perfection the true Christian, when they feel that the next life is all in all, and that eternity is the only subject that really can claim or can fill their thoughts, then they are apt to undervalue this life altogether, and to forget its real importance.”
Venerable Fulton J. Sheen clearly had one foot in this world and the other in the next. All one has to do is listen to or watch his shows.
Msgr. Jason Gray, Executive Director of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation, described the soon-to-be beatified Fulton Sheen in a recent First Things article as “a televangelist, a charismatic bishop, a media personality with piercing eyes, a scholar, a celebrity, and the host of an award-winning television program.”
In 2019, his cause was put on hold by the Vatican. As of February 9, 2025, however, his cause now proceeds.
He is one step closer to joining the following canonized saints associated with the United States!
As we celebrate Bishop Sheen’s beatification this September, below is a list of 13 more American saints canonized in the Catholic Church and where they're from:
1) North American Martyrs
North American Martyrs - Saints Isaac Jogues (1607-1646), professed priest of the Jesuits; René Goupil (1608-1642), professed religious of the Jesuits; and Jean de Lalande (d. 1646), professed religious of the Jesuits; France - Canada - U.S.
2) Saint Pedro Calungsod
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Saint Pedro Calungsod - (ca. 1654-1672), layperson of the Archdiocese of Cebu; Cebu, Philippines - Tumon, Guam (U.S. Territory).
3) Saint Kateri Tekakwitha
Saint Kateri Tekakwitha - (ca. 1656-1680), layperson of the Archdiocese of Montréal; New York, U.S. - Québec, Canada.
4) Saint Junípero Serra
Saint Junípero Serra (1713-1784), professed priest of the Franciscan Friars Minor; Mallorca, Spain - California, U.S.
5) Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821), widow; founder of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul in the United States, the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati, the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, the Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul of Halifax, the Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul of New York, the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth of New Jersey; New York, U.S. - Rome, Italy - Maryland, U.S.
6) Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne
Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne (1769-1852), professed religious of the Society of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; Isère, France - Missouri, U.S.
7) Saint Théodore Guérin
Saint Théodore Guérin (Mother Théodore) (1798-1856), founder of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Côtes-d'Armor, France - Indiana, U.S.
8) Saint John Neumann
Saint John Neumann (John Nepomucene) (1811-1860), professed priest of the Redemptorists; Archbishop of Philadelphia; founder of the Sisters of Saint Francis of Philadelphia; Prachatice, Czech Republic - Pennsylvania, U.S.
9) Saint Damien De Veuster (Saint Damien of Molokai)
Saint Damien De Veuster (1840-1889), also known as Saint Damien of Molokai, professed priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (Picpus Fathers); Vlaams-Brabant, Belgium - Hawaii, U.S.
10) Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini
Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (Frances Xavier) (1850-1917), founder of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Lodi, Italy - Illinois, U.S.
11) Saint Marianne Cope
Saint Marianne Cope (1838-1918), professed religious of the Franciscan Sisters of Syracuse, Bergstrasse, Germany - Hawaii, U.S.
12) Saint Katharine Drexel
Saint Katharine Drexel (1858-1955), founder of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People; Pennsylvania, U.S.
13) Saint Teresa of Calcutta
Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997), founder of the Missionaries of Charity, was an honorary American citizen granted in 1996 by Congress and President Clinton.