Archbishop Sheen - Possible Miracle

On Monday 24 July 2006 the Peoria Journal Star had an article about the report that is being sent to the Vatican about an apparent miracle that may have been done through the intercession of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. It may seem like I am using a lot of qualifiers. The reason is simply that until it is officially declared a miracle by the proper authorities at the Vatican I cannot make any claims that it is.

This step is part of the long process used by the Catholic Church to discern whether a person is truly a saint. I will not try to explain the whole process here, only this part of the process. In 1999 a 79 yr old woman was undergoing lung surgery. a tear was found in her main pulmonary artery. Her husband began praying to Achbishop Sheen for her recovery. She survived the surgery. At this point details are not available but will be at a later point. The incident has been investigated & all relevent information has been gathered together. On Sun 23 July, 3 copies of the 500 page report were signed in a special ceremony by the postulator of the cause, Andrea Ambrosi, as well as several officials of the Diocese of Peoria, IL including vicar general Monsignor Paul Showalter and Monsignor Richard Soseman who heads the effort in the Peoria Diocese. 2 copies of the report & supporting documents were put into a box, a letter identifying the contents was glued to the top. The box was tied shut with a red ribbon. Then everything was sealed with wax. This is to insure the integrity of all the documents. The 3rd copy of everything will be kept in the Peoria Diocese. Several members of the Sheen family were present at the ceremony.

The box will be sent to the Vatican where Mr. Ambrosi, a canon lawyer, will argue before a tribunal for the approval of the miracle. At this time the details will come out. The documentation includes interviews with 14 witnessess, including doctors & family members. After careful investigation, the tribunal will give its recomendation to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. If the Congregation accepts it it will pass on a recomendation to the Pope that Archbishop Sheen be beatified. The Pope will then discern & make a decision about declaring him blessed. If he decides in the positive a time & place will be decided upon to make it official using a ritual for that purpose. At that time Bishop Sheen can be called blessed & in (depending on how widely allowed by the Vatican) his feast day will be celebrated in the USA. There will be further investigation as well as a 2nd miracle approved before Archbishop Sheen is declared a saint. (This is a very simplified explanation & leaves out a lot of what needs to be done. More information can be found at the Vatican website as well as at EWTN & other sites.)

May God's will be done & may He be glorified through His servant Archbishop Sheen.