Peoria, Ill., May 8, 2017 / 09:10 am
Today is a good day to join more than 1,000 priests and an even greater number of the faithful in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in remembrance of Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen and with the intention of moving forward his beatification cause.
May 8 marks the archbishop's 122nd birthday.
The beloved TV evangelist, who was friends with St. John XXIII and Blessed Paul VI, helped bring hundreds - and maybe even thousands of souls - into the Church, with notable converts such as Henry Ford II, politician Clare Booth Luce, actress Virginia Mayo and several of his day's best-known communists. The actor Ramon Estevez took the archbishop's surname for his stage name: Martin Sheen.
Archbishop Sheen ordained EWTN's own Father Andrew Apostoli and is often credited with the fact that many priests make a daily Holy Hour: He constantly exhorted his priestly brethren to adore the Blessed Sacrament.