Bishop Fulton Sheen
By Mary Hoar
Many people are not aware a holy man, a man who walked the twentieth century streets of Yonkers, was beatified. Beatification, the second step for declaration of sainthood by the Catholic Church, needs a miracle to be attributed to the person, documented by a scientific commission. They use specific criteria to prove there is no other explanation for the cure or event other than intercession of the person. Beatification means the church believes Bishop Sheen is in heaven and can intercede for people who pray for his help. Canonization, the third and final step, is the official declaration of sainthood.
What miracle is attributed to Sheen? Sixteen years ago, James Fulton Engstrom was stillborn at home. His father quickly baptized him; his mother prayed to Bishop Sheen during resuscitation efforts, entreating the Bishop to help their son. Rushed to Peoria’s St. Francis Medical Center, baby James had no detectible heartbeat or respiration for sixty-one minutes while they were working on him. Just as the hospital was about to declare him dead, James took his first breath! His heart began beating moments later. Medical staff warned his parents his lengthy oxygen deprivation had caused severe brain damage and physically disabilities. Today, Engstrom is a happy, healthy high school student.
An eloquent man, media pioneer Bishop Sheen served eight months as a parish priest in Peoria, then attended Catholic University in Washington for a year. He studied at the Catholic University in Louvain, Belgium for five years. When he returned to the US, he taught Philosophy at Catholic University, Washington, DC. His reputation as a teacher grew; he was asked to be a summer replacement on The Catholic Hour radio program. Sheen did so well, he was asked to return weekly.
He began speaking around the country. He spoke at graduations at Mount St. Vincent and College of New Rochelle; he addressed the National Council of Catholic Women Conference, Knights of Columbus gatherings and masses at New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral. He gave the 1929 Christmas sermon at St. Patrick’s, attended by students from Yonkers’ St. Joseph’s Seminary. He preached at important events at the cathedral, many times accompanied by St. Joseph’s Seminarian Choir. He addressed Maryknoll Departure ceremonies and ordained new priests. He narrated the ten-reel film “The Eternal Gift,” shown in Yonkers at St. Mary’s Church Hall. In 1949, Sheen was named National Director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith and received an honorary Doctor of Letters from Fordham.
Many are unaware of the long relationship Yonkers had with Bishop Sheen!
In the early 1950s, his brother Thomas, a New York City doctor, bought “Beau Rivage,” an impressive Swiss chalet on Roberts Lane with an incredible view of the Hudson River. Bishop Sheen regularly visited Thomas; Beau Rivage was his retreat to write scripts.
It wasn’t all work for Bishop Sheen in Yonkers; he often played golf at the Hudson River Country Club with an assistant. He shopped in the North End, bought groceries and newspapers on Palisade Avenue, and chatted with the other shoppers. He celebrated mass at Christ the King and spoke about the importance of churches combatting the threat of communism at St. Anthony’s Church on Nepperhan Avenue.
Bishop Sheen impressed The Herald Statesman staff; Circulation Advisor Ted Gizicky spotted Bishop Sheen walking in Larkin Plaza and invited him to the newspaper to meet the staff. The Bishop’s final words when he left were his signature TV signoff, “God loves you all!”
Bishop Sheen was close to his niece Joan and brought her to New York City for a strong Catholic education with the Sisters of the Holy Child. He guided her to attend Pennsylvania’s Rosemont College. After graduation, he suggested Joan work in Washington; she met and married Georgetown Law School graduate Jerry Cunningham. When Cunningham took a job in Manhattan, the couple decided to buy a home for their family. Once again, Bishop Sheen took charge; he came to Yonkers and found the couple a home in Park Hill with amazing views of the Hudson. Bishop Sheen was a regular visitor to the Cunninghams, spending weekends with them. He baptized Cunningham children at St. Denis Church. He officiated at the First Communions and Confirmations of the Cunningham children’s classes, an amazing honor for the now closed St. Denis Parish.
Joan Sheen Cunningham was a key figure in the cause of Bishop Sheen’s sainthood, living to testify on his behalf; she fought to move his remains to Peoria, the diocese that put him forward for sainthood. Peoria has led a multi-decade effort researching and promoting his sainthood, beginning in 2002. Joan later moved to the area. After passing away in 2022, she returned to Westchester in death. She is buried at Gate of Heaven Cemetery with members of her family.
When he learned about Joan Cunningham’s death, retired Peoria Bishop Daniel Jenky commented, “I picture her being as determined as ever arguing our case in heaven—arguing her uncle, the Venerable Servant of God Fulton J. Sheen, should quickly be scheduled for beatification.”
No doubt, she was by his side to witness his beatification.