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The Catholic Church in the United States will mark a historic and deeply symbolic moment this September, as Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen—long known as “God’s microphone”—is set to be beatified on September 24 in St. Louis, Missouri.

The announcement, made by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints on the Solemnity of the Annunciation, has been met with joy across the Church, particularly among those who continue the missionary work Sheen so passionately championed.

“It’s an indescribable joy to receive the news,” said Monsignor Roger J. Landry, National Director of The Pontifical Mission Societies USA. “Archbishop Fulton Sheen is an inspiration not only to all of us who continue his work of prayer and support for the Church’s missionary work across the globe but for all those whose faith has been strengthened by his preaching, broadcasting, writing, and holy Catholic life.”

Sheen served as National Director of The Pontifical Mission Societies from 1950 to 1966, a period during which he transformed missionary awareness among American Catholics. With his characteristic eloquence and conviction, he reminded the faithful that the Church is missionary by her very nature—and that every baptized person shares responsibility for proclaiming the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

Among his many initiatives was the founding of MISSION Magazine, the flagship publication of The Pontifical Mission Societies USA, which this year marks its 75th anniversary. Through its pages, Sheen sought to bring the realities of the universal Church into the homes of American Catholics, fostering both prayer and material support for those living and proclaiming the Gospel in mission territories.

His leadership was not merely rhetorical. Sheen backed his words with extraordinary personal generosity, donating millions of dollars from his own earnings—particularly from his widely successful radio and television programs—to support the Church in mission territories. He did so with a deep awareness that all Catholics are called to assist the Holy Father in fulfilling Christ’s Great Commission: to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19).

His missionary zeal extended in a particular way to China, where the Church was enduring intense persecution under Communist rule. Sheen frequently spoke out against the regime, describing its use of violence and its attempts to suppress religious freedom, while urging Catholics to pray for and support their brothers and sisters suffering for the faith.

One story, recounted by Sheen, left a lasting mark on his own spiritual life and countless others. He told of a young Chinese girl—known as “Little Li”—who witnessed Communist soldiers arrest a priest and desecrate a church, scattering 32 consecrated hosts on the floor. For 32 consecutive nights, the girl returned in secret, making a Holy Hour of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament and consuming one host each night. On the final night, she was discovered and killed.

Deeply moved by her witness, Sheen resolved to make a daily Holy Hour before the Eucharist for the rest of his life—a commitment he kept faithfully. That Eucharistic devotion became the wellspring of his missionary energy, grounding his preaching, his generosity, and his tireless efforts on behalf of the missions.

The fact that the beatification will take place on a Thursday—the day on which Christ instituted the Eucharist—offers a providential opportunity for the faithful to reflect on this defining aspect of Sheen’s spirituality. Widely regarded as one of the greatest promoters of Eucharistic Holy Hours in the history of the Church, Sheen’s lifelong commitment to daily adoration remains a powerful invitation to rediscover the centrality of the Eucharist in the life of the Church and in the missionary vocation of every Christian.

His concern for the Church in China was not abstract. He lifted up the witness of persecuted missionaries such as Bishop Francis X. Ford, a Maryknoll bishop who died in a Communist prison, and continually called American Catholics to recognize their spiritual solidarity with suffering Christians across the world. 

In many ways, Sheen’s voice—heard by millions through programs like Life Is Worth Living—helped shape a generation of American Catholics, strengthening their faith at a time when anti-Catholic sentiment still lingered in public life. As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its founding this year, his role in articulating a confident, intellectually robust, and deeply missionary Catholic identity remains difficult to overstate.

At a time when Catholics were often viewed with suspicion, Sheen brought the faith into American homes with clarity, wit, and conviction. He demonstrated that Catholicism was not foreign to the American experiment, but rather a vital contributor to its moral and spiritual foundations. His witness helped countless Catholics embrace their faith more openly—and invited many others to encounter the Gospel for the first time.

The choice of St. Louis as the site of his beatification adds another layer of historical and missionary significance. This year marks the 200th anniversary of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, whose origins are deeply intertwined with the missionary spirit that continues to animate The Pontifical Mission Societies.

Often referred to as the “Rome of the West,” St. Louis was not only a focal point of the Church’s mission west of the Mississippi in its early days, but also a launching pad for the broader westward movement of evangelization. From this strategic and missionary hub, priests, religious, and lay missionaries were sent forth to accompany expanding communities and to proclaim the Gospel across the American frontier.

The archdiocese traces its roots to 1826, when the Diocese of Louisiana and the Two Floridas was established to serve a vast and growing territory. Its first bishop, Louis William Valentine DuBourg, quickly recognized the immense pastoral challenges before him and traveled to Europe seeking support. There, he encountered Blessed Pauline Jaricot and members of the Association for the Propagation of the Faith in Lyon—an initiative she had founded just a few years earlier, in 1822.

Moved by the needs of the Church in what was then considered mission territory, Jaricot and her collaborators committed to supporting the diocese through prayer and financial contributions. From its earliest days, therefore, the Church in St. Louis was sustained by the generosity of Catholics around the world through the Society for the Propagation of the Faith.

Today, the situation has come full circle. The Archdiocese of St. Louis is no longer a mission territory receiving aid, but rather a vibrant local Church that contributes generously to the missions through its archdiocesan Mission Office. Through the Society for the Propagation of the Faith—one of the four Pontifical Mission Societies—Catholics in St. Louis and across the United States now support more than 1,100 dioceses worldwide, most of them in Africa and Asia.

This global solidarity is expressed in a particular way through the annual World Mission Sunday collection, which this year marks its 100th anniversary and will be celebrated on Oct. 18. Instituted to unite Catholics worldwide in prayer and support for the missions, World Mission Sunday reflects precisely the vision that Sheen preached and embodied: a Church united in Christ and sent on mission to all peoples.

That Sheen, who led this very Society in the United States, will be beatified in a place so closely linked to its origins is a powerful reminder of the unity of the Church’s missionary effort across time and space.

Monsignor Landry also highlighted another providential dimension of the upcoming celebration: the presence of Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, who will serve as papal legate and principal celebrant of the beatification Mass.

“I’m also thrilled that Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle will be the papal legate, celebrant and preacher,” Monsignor Landry said. “Not only is Cardinal Tagle, like Sheen, an incredibly gifted preacher, but he will no doubt be able to emphasize the contributions that soon to be Blessed Fulton Sheen made, and in many ways continues to make, to the Church’s mission work.”

The date of the beatification also carries profound spiritual meaning. September 24 is traditionally a day when the universal Church is invited in a particular way to pray for the Church in China—a community that continues to bear witness to the Gospel amid significant challenges.

In this light, the beatification of Archbishop Sheen—whose heart was deeply united to the suffering Church in China and whose Eucharistic devotion was shaped by that witness—becomes an invitation to renew that commitment. His life stands as a testimony that the proclamation of Christ knows no borders, and that solidarity with the Church in every corner of the world is an essential dimension of Christian discipleship.

Reflecting on the timing of the announcement itself, Monsignor Landry pointed to its connection with the mystery of the Annunciation.

“Archbishop Sheen spent his life continuing the work of the Archangel Gabriel, calling us to rejoice because the Lord is with us,” he said, “and imitating the response of Mary in placing himself as a servant of the Lord, allowing his whole life to develop according to the Lord’s word.”