Our alumnus of The Saint Paul Seminary, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, class of 1919, is soon to be beatified. This momentous event will take place September 24, 2026, at the Dome at America’s Center in Saint Louis, Missouri with a day-long experience: an exposition hall, pre-beatification event, beatification, Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Adoration, confessions, and an opportunity to venerate Sheen’s relics. And the seminarians, all 100 of them, along with leadership, faculty, and staff, will be joining in the celebration by riding down south for it in three buses.
Come and visit our tables in the exhibitor hall—one about our lay master’s programs and another specifically designated as a prayer booth! Our seminarians and priests, formed in the same Seminary as Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, will be on hand to listen, pray, and connect with the tens of thousands of expected guests.
“There was a life before Archbishop Sheen became a priest, and we’re certainly very proud of the fact that his vocation was nurtured and formed in our institution. It’s a moment to honor the important work all seminaries do and the work we’ve done here for 135 years,” Father Joseph Taphorn, rector, said about the upcoming beatification celebration.
Sheen began his daily Holy Hour devotion right here in our Saint Mary’s Chapel—literally the idea came to him when he was locked outside of the chapel at 6 p.m. one evening in 1918. Our chapel is open 24/7 to those in residence here at the Seminary nowadays, and our formation includes a regular Holy Hour, but that was not always the case. Sheen’s desire to pray in God’s real presence spurred on a commitment that lasted over sixty years. Sheen shared often that the fruits of his work stemmed from the graces of the daily Holy Hour.
Inspired by his devotion, our Saint Paul Seminary Press will release a collection of reflections with Sheen’s chapter on his Holy Hour included entitled The Hour: Reflections on Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen’s Holy Hour Devotion edited by Father Joseph Taphorn, JCL, our rector. The contributors span from Archbishop Hebda to Bishop Cozzens to priestly formators, Deacon Cooley, Dean Thompson, Dr. Josh Hengemuhle, Nell O’Leary Alt, to other lay members of our community. When it is available, we will share the information.
This year will be shaped in many ways by our focus on Sheen, not merely as a world-renown promoter of the missions who raised millions for them, nor as the most recognizable television and radio evangelist who won an Emmy award, nor as the man directly responsible for the conversion of tens of thousands, but as a man who lived a life of heroic virtue. In the unseen and unpublicized parts of his life, he was deeply devoted to caring for the forgotten, to suffering wrongs patiently, and to offering his whole life as a living sacrifice to God. May we follow in his footsteps.
Thank you for your prayers for our Seminary community as we make the pilgrimage to the beatification of our alumnus, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. May we continue to form future saints!