MIDTOWN — One week after his beatification, a first-class relic of Blessed Fulton J. Sheen was received at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Oct. 1, marking what Archbishop Ronald Hicks called a “homecoming” for the famed Catholic evangelist and former New York auxiliary bishop.
The relic, a bone from Archbishop Sheen’s hand, was brought to New York by Bishop Louis Tylka of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois (Archbishop Sheen’s home diocese) and placed near the cathedral’s altar for public veneration.
It will permanently reside at St. Patrick’s Cathedral’s Altar of the Holy Face but will travel with Archbishop Hicks as he visits deaneries throughout the Archdiocese of New York through Thanksgiving, giving Catholics across the archdiocese an opportunity to venerate it.
Archbishop Hicks recalled that Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle had described Archbishop Sheen as a son of Illinois, a son of the United States, and a son of the world during his beatification homily.
“I agree with all of those,” Archbishop Hicks told The Tablet. “I’d like to add today, as we’re gathered here in New York, he’s also a son of New York. He spent a lot of time here. He evangelized here.
“He called this home, and he was an auxiliary bishop here, so today this is a homecoming for us.”
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Members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, which Archbishop Sheen joined in 1951, accompanied the relic in procession, and stood honor guard as Catholics came forward to venerate it.
Samuel Romanzo, a Knight Commander with Star, called participating in the guard “a tremendous honor.”
“We’re all trying to be called to be saints,” Romanzo said. “To be able to be there in that presence is fantastic.”
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A long line of faithful formed inside the cathedral to venerate the relic.
Among those in line was Donnie Miller of Sunnyside, wearing a hoodie bearing the name of Archbishop Sheen’s Emmy Award-winning television program, “Life Is Worth Living.” Miller, who traveled to St. Louis for the beatification and participated in a pilgrimage for Archbishop Sheen at St. Agnes Church in Manhattan, said he has developed a devotion to the famed Catholic communicator.
“What drew me to the Blessed was his communication style. He’s very clear. He’s funny. He’s humorous,” Miller said. “I think it’s great for young people to have access to the media that’s out there on YouTube.”
Bishop Tylka said more people seeking Archbishop Sheen’s intercession could help carry his sainthood cause forward, as one more miracle attributed to Archbishop Sheen’s intercession is needed for canonization.
“The more people pray to him and make those requests, the more likely it is that God is going to grant that work of a miraculous healing,” Bishop Tylka said. “We have no idea when that will happen, but we know that he’s already been a powerful intercessor in so many people’s lives.”
