SW News: In the United States, the Fulton Sheen Movement has announced that a mega event in honor of Venerable Fulton Sheen will be held at the Annunciation Church of the Byzantine Church in Homer Glen, Illinois, on July 9. The all-day event involves prayer, feasting and active participation to advance the cause of the American prelate, who was a well-known public figure during his lifetime.

According to the organizers of the Fulton Sheen Rally, participants will have the chance to rediscover the message of Ven. Sheen and be part of the movement of Catholics who are striving to bring a change to the world and save the Church. It will also be a platform to unite all those who are enamored by the teaching of the prelate and to promote his cause of beatification.

The rally is a family event with a whole range of activities such as picnic-style cookout, bounce house and so on. There will be booths dedicated to the sainthood candidate providing attendees to reflect on his teachings and know him better. A charcoal portrait of Archbishop Sheen will go under the hammer and its proceeds will be used to support the movement. His speeches and interviews will be shown via multimedia. A prairie walk tour of the campus will also be held that day.

The members of the movement hope that the participants will together demand the beatification of the archbishop to be expedited. They believe that Archbishop Sheen’s beatification will bring abundant blessings to the Church in America and inspire countless people to stand up for the Church.

During the event, there will be Divine Liturgy in the Byzantine Rite. Interestingly, Archbishop Sheen had the faculty to celebrate Mass in both the Roman as well as Byzantine Rites.

Archbishop Sheen was born Peter John Sheen on May 8, 1895, and he was ordained for the Diocese of Peoria in 1919. He became renowned as a theologian and clinched the Cardinal Mercier Prize for International Philosophy in 1923. In 1951, he was appointed the auxiliary bishop of New York Archdiocese and in 1966, he became bishop of Rochester. Later, he was made archbishop of the titular see of Newport, Wales. He became a celebrity thanks to his programs on radio and TV. He hosted the radio show The Catholic Hour on NBC for two decades before moving to television with his Life is Worth Living show. He passed away on December 9, 1979, and his cause for canonization was officially opened in 2002. In June 2012, Pope Benedict XVI recognized a decree of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints testifying to Sheen’s heroic virtues and making him worthy of the title of Venerable.