ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A former Rochester bishop is one step closer to sainthood, and his miracle is in the form of a child.
The life of a child is credited to miracle prayers by Bishop Fulton Sheen. He was the bishop of Rochester in the 1960s. Saturday in St. Louis, he will be beatified, one step below sainthood in the Catholic Church.
It’s been 60 years since Sheen was in Rochester. But News10NBC Chief Investigative Reporter Berkeley Brean met a priest who knew him.
“He was a lot like he was on TV”
Father Richard Brickler was the priest at Holy Family on Jay Street. He would drive Bishop Sheen around his parish.He says Mass at Nazareth University on Wednesdays.
“He was a lot like he was on TV,” Brickler said. “He would talk to you and look right at you and people used to use that expression — those piercing eyes, you know?”
Sheen was one of the most famous people in America. More than 30 million Americans watched his weekly TV show, “A Life Worth Living.” He was bishop of Rochester from 1966 to 1969.
The miracle
The miracle came much later. When James Engstrom was born in Peoria, Illinois, 15 years ago, his heart wasn’t beating. His mother prayed.
“And in my head just repeating Fulton Sheen’s name, over and over again,” said Bonnie Engstrom, James’ mother. “Fulton Sheen. Fulton Sheen. Fulton Sheen.”
“We firmly believe that Fulton Sheen was praying those prayers for us on our behalf and that Jesus Christ was listening,” Engstrom said.
Brean: “Do you believe it was a miracle?”Bonnie Engstrom: “Oh definitely.”
Meet me in St. Louis
People are leaving Rochester for St. Louis, taking off from the Rochester airport including the leaders of Saint Bernard’s School of Theology.
“I really hope that we take the opportunity to give thanks to God for such a great man,” said Stephen Loughlin, president of St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry.
“One of the most important legacies of Fulton Sheen’s life was his role as bishop of Rochester,” said Matthew Kuhner, professor at St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry. “And it one of the legacies people know the least. So I’m hopeful Bishop Bonici, our presence there and other there can really reveal that to the world in a way that’s not been done so far.”
When asked what he thinks about the fact that Sheen is going to be beatified, Brickler said, “Well, I’m very much impressed and pleased.”
“I had occasion in recently years, not lately, to watch some of his old talks and it seemed that they were just as relevant today,” Brickler said. “He was way ahead of his time I think in his thinking.”
Sheen in Rochester: turbulent and short
Sheen’s time in Rochester was turbulent and short — only 34 months. He made changes, publicly criticized Kodak and the Vietnam War and when he tried to sell Saint Bridget’s Church for housing, there was so much pushback the plan was pulled. Sheen resigned later that year.
The church burned in a fire down in 2025.
Sheen is clean
The Catholic Church delayed Sheen’s beatification until the Rochester Diocese sex abuse bankruptcy ended. His record was scrutinized and there were no cases against Sheen. The Vatican decided he would be beatified this year.
“It’s really for us. It’s for the sake of the church that we celebrate these heroes,” Monsignor Jason Gray said. “It’s kind of like having a Hall of Fame.”
Gray runs the Bishop Sheen Foundation in Peoria and directs the beatification. He said Sheen’s record was scrutinized.
“And so I use the phrase that ‘Sheen is clean,'” Gray said.
James Fulton Engstrom is a high school freshman who loves pop music, takes art classes and was the manager of the freshman football team. His miracle is part of his family’s story.
“And I think too that he is still doing miracles of biblical proportions,” Engstrom said. “God is active and he’s not just someone in a book on a shelf. He is still alive and part of our lives.”
The beatification is Thursday in St. Louis.
‘He was way ahead of his time’: People who knew Bishop Fulton Sheen reflect as he nears sainthood WHEC.com.
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